Staying with You and You and You and You
by Pennan Inque
Summary: While her mother is off doing a year-long movie shoot, Kairi is left to stay with her mother's friend, her husband and their FOUR teenage boys. Can Kairi survive a year with that much testosterone?
1. Meeting Them

**Finally I decide to tackle one of the "roommate" plot lines. Except with a dramatic twist! **

**This is pretty much an everyone-flirts-with-main-character story, but I assure you, the relationships have been carefully thought out by yours truly and crack pairings will be trimmed off relatively quickly. **

**Seeing as Kairi is now living with them, the Sora quartet (Sora, Roxas, Ventus, Vanitas) will have the main interactions with Kairi, but ****Riku**** will also play a role in the story, as well as ****Axel****_(message me if you want to see a certain character. Since the plot line hasn't really been defined yet, I could possibly incorporate them somehow)_**

**Now without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

As my mom dropped me off at her friend's house, I felt a strong feeling of foreboding.

It was odd because there was nothing wrong with the house itself. It was a peaceful, pleasant looking stick-style house with shutters and a patio that emanated homeliness. The garden was flowering in the spring sun and the lawn was well kept. There wasn't a single part about the place that made me uncomfortable (in fact, I felt at ease), so the feeling confused me.

It wasn't mom's friend, Mrs. Strife, that made me troubled either. I had met her tons of times when she had come to the house for tea. She was a fun and lovable woman who was very kind to me, treating me like her own daughter whenever we were together. It wasn't her husband either as I had met Mr. Strife a few months after my mother and I had moved to the Islands. Mrs. Strife had dragged him to one of my mother's teas and he had been a quiet, nice man that was admittedly very handsome. I knew the both of them would treat me well over the summer, so my senses remained unexplained.

Mom handed me some of my luggage from the trunk. "I hope you packed enough, sweetie," she said, linking arms with me affectionately and escorting me to the front door. "We don't want you to impose any more on Tifa and Cloud than you already are."

"Relax, Mom," I smiled. "I double-checked that I had everything that I need. I plan on being perfectly respectful to the Strifes while you're away."

"That's my girl," Mom said, grinning proudly at me. "I just wish we had enough money to bring you with me. It's going to be so lonely without you."

"It'll be alright," I assured. "We're only a phone call away. Besides, you'll be so busy with the shoot that you won't have time to be lonely."

My mom sighed as she rang the doorbell. "I'll always have time to miss my little girl."

"Even when you become a big movie star?" I smirked.

"Even then." She smiled.

As soon as the door was opened, Mom was crushed by one of Mrs. Strife's famous bone-shattering hugs. "Aerith! It's so good to see you!"

My mom just laughed with the little oxygen she had left. "It's good to see you too, Tifa."

Mrs. Strife's eyes landed on me and she sprung from hugging my mom to ensnaring me. "Kairi! Oh, it's been so long! You've grown!"

"Hi, Mrs. Strife," I choked.

She let me go only to send me a teasing glare. "How many times do I have to tell you, Kairi? Just call me Tifa."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Tifa."

"Such manners." She shook her head in tragedy before sending my mom a look. "She gets it from you, you know."

"There's nothing wrong with being polite," Mom said, stepping passed Mrs. Strife to enter the house. "Excuse the intrusion."

Mrs. Strife smirked. She and Mom had been friends since they were kids and their relationship was hard to explain. She was fun though, and full of energy. I half wondered what was in store for me for the next year. Mrs. Strife grabbed my suitcase out of my hand. "We might as well go join the lady of the house," she joked.

She closed the door behind me and set my luggage on the hardwood floor. Mr. Strife emerged from the adjoined living room and gave us polite greetings; a friendly hug for my mother and a hair tousle for me, much to my disdain. He didn't say much besides a few husky words of chitchat, but Mrs. Strife tended to dominate conversation anyway.

"How about some coffee before you go, Aerith?" she asked.

"Unfortunately my flight leaves in an hour and I've got to get going. Thank you for the offer though." Mrs. Strife waved her off and Mom came to brush a strand of my hair away. It was an unnecessary, but affectionate gesture I'd grown accustomed to. "Be sure to be on your best behavior. Don't cause Tifa or Cloud any trouble and focus on your studies. I expect a text, email or telephone call daily."

"Sure thing, Mom," I said, giving my mom a farewell hug and kiss goodbye. A few tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't dwell on them. With a few more goodbyes, Mom was out the door.

Mrs. Strife and I stood on the porch, watching as my mom got back into the car. "Don't worry about a thing, Aerith!" she yelled. "We'll take good care of her!"

"I know you will! Have a good time, Kairi! I love you!"

"Love you too, Mom!" I said, waving.

And with that, my mother drove off, leaving me with the Strifes and my persistent sense of doom.

* * *

Mrs. Strife led me back into the house. "Now then, let's get you settled. I'm afraid we don't have much choice of rooms. The boys take up four rooms amongst themselves so we'll need to do some rearranging."

My mind and body froze. _Whoa. Hang on. Backup and rewind. Did she just say…_ "Boys?"

"Cloud's boys," she said nonchalantly. I vaguely remember Mom telling me that Mr. and Mrs. Strife had married years after they had divorced their previous spouses. "They stay with us and their mother periodically. Have you never met?"

"No," I said.

"Hm," she thought curiously. "Their mother lives in Radiant Gardens so they travel there and back every few weeks to weekend with her. They all go to school here, at Destiny High, same as you. You know, it really is odd that you've never met before."

My mind started reeling, immediately thinking of any and all boys at my high school that could be Mr. Stife's sons, but the net was too wide "Odd," I agreed automatically.

"Well it turns out their mother is taking a vacation this year, so the boys will be staying while you're here. That's not a problem, right?"

I swallowed. "Of course not."

"I didn't think so," Mrs. Strife smiled. "You'll love the boys. They're so full of spirit. I'm sure you'll all get along splendidly." We heard a car rev outside as it pulled into the driveway. "That'll be them back from the beach, I'll expect. No one other than Vanitas and Cloud can make driving a car so obnoxious."

Mr. Strife's voice floated in from the kitchen. "I heard that!"

I bustled out of the way as the front door flung open. A boy with chocolate coloured, spiky hair walked through the threshold. He was laughing at some unknown joke, his handsome features pulled into a charmingly adorable smile. My heart fluttered. I scolded it. "Hey, Tifa! What's for dinner? I'm –oh!" His blue eyes landed on me and he froze like a deer in headlights.

A second boy came through the door, this one with slimmer, taller, blonde spikes. His smile was playful and just as attractive as the first boy's. "What are you asking Tifa for dinner for, Sora? It's Dad that does all the cooking." His hearty chuckle was cut short when he too laid eyes on me. "Oh, hi there," he said, somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't know we had company."

"Remember the time Tifa made meatloaf? I still have nightmares about that…" Another boy, who looked nearly identical to the second aside from the more aloof expression, almost ran into the first two. He managed to swerve around them as he added to the conversation. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Uh, who's this?"

"Who's who?" A fourth, darker voice said from behind the group. "What are you guys all standing around for? You're in my way; move it!" He elbowed his way through the crowd of brothers until he made it to the front like a fan at a concert, but with more composure. He shared a striking resemblance to the first boy, except his black hair and abnormal golden eyes. He stopped short when he saw me and quirked a brow almost suggestively. "And _who_ is _this_?"

"_This_," Mrs. Strife said, sending the dark-haired boy a warning stare, "is Kairi, Aerith's daughter. She's going to be staying with us while her mother is doing a movie shoot."

"How long will that be exactly?" the third boy asked. Though his tone was kinda rude, I didn't hold it against him. I wouldn't be too happy if some stranger came to stay at my house either.

"However long it takes to shoot the film. It's been estimated to take ten to twelve months because the locations for the movie are all over the globe."

"So we get to spend approximately a year in the same house as this babe?" The fourth boy asked, looking me up and down.

Mr. Strife appeared from the kitchen. "Her name is Kairi, Vanitas, not babe. Show some respect."

"I am showing respect," Vanitas said. "Isn't it polite to let someone know that they're smoking hot?" He winked at me.

Mrs. Strife whacked him upside the head. "Not when you've only just met. Now behave yourself!"

"Yes, ma'am," he grumbled. His brothers chuckled.

"Formal introductions are in order, I believe," Mr. Strife said, coming up beside me. "Kairi, meet my sons: Sora, Ventus, Roxas, and Vanitas." He pointed to them in order of which they arrived and they all waved (in varied excitement) in greeting.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said, though I wondered if it really was. Sora and Ventus seemed pleasant enough, but Roxas looked pretty reserved around strangers and Vanitas was a little _too_ friendly.

"Why don't you boys help Kairi settle in?" Mrs. Strife suggested.

"Sure," Ventus and Sora said at the same time. They grabbed my luggage and headed for the stairs. Roxas shrugged and followed. Vanitas sidled next to me.

"We've only got the four rooms between the five of us, you know," he said, his deep voice rumbling in my ear. "You're more than welcome to stay with me."

Mrs. Strife gave him another hit. "I said _behave!"_

"Why don't we have Sora room with Ventus," Mr. Strife suggested. "Kairi can use his room."

"It's alright with me," Sora said from the stairs. He turned to his brother. "How about it Ven? Year-long slumber party?"

"Oh yeah!" Ventus exclaimed, pumping a fist exuberantly.

"Okay then, boys. Bring Kairi's things to Sora's room so she can settle in. Then come down for supper. I'm making pizza," Mr. Strife said.

The boys, including Roxas, perked up. "Yes sir!" They saluted before rushing up the stairs.

I followed rather slowly behind. How was I going to manage to stay a year with four rambunctious teenage boys? One would be hard enough, but four? I sighed to myself. Needless to say I had figured out my foreboding premonition.

* * *

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	2. Dinner Time

**Special thanks to ohnoitisKatie for the review! Thanks to sweetanime fan and unknown guest as well.**

**I'm so pleased with the feedback that I'm posting the next chapter today. Keep the comments coming!**

* * *

I thanked my lucky stars that the upstairs corridor was wide. I was feeling claustrophobic enough with four boys without having to be squished up against them. Roxas leaned against a wall, bored, as Vanitas and Ventus followed Sora into a room at the end of the hall. I hesitated. It wasn't proper, let alone polite to go into a boy's room uninvited.

"What are you waiting for?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "Go in."

"Oh!" I said, jumping a bit. "A-alright."

The room was pretty tame and not something I would have expected from a teenage boy. The whole thing was painted a tasteful red with stylish black trimming along the windows and door. Instead of girls in bikinis plastered all over the wall, there were famous movie posters sprinkled here and there. The dresser and side tables were extraordinarily lacking clutter and I could actually see the floor.

Sora was rummaging through his drawers, yanking out random pieces of clothing. He saw me from the corner of his eye. "I'll just be a second. Once I grab a few changes of clothes, I'll get out of your hair so you can unpack a bit."

"Oh, no!" I said, slightly flattered at, yet unaccustomed to the special treatment. "Please, take your time. I appreciate that you're letting me use your room."

"It's no problem," he smiled. "If you're going to be staying with us for a while, you should at least be comfortable and have a room to yourself."

"Thank you," I said, bowing my head.

"Hey now," Ventus laughed good-naturedly over my shoulder. "There's no need to be so formal! I know you're probably nervous staying with four guys you don't know, but we're all cool. We'll try to give you your space and make you feel welcome, right guys?"

"Right," Sora grinned.

Roxas appeared in the doorway, arms crossed as he said indifferently, "Sure."

"Of course," Vanitas said, oddly affable. "We'll be the best of friends and will help you with anything you need." He slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me flush against him. "My room is on the right if you ever get lonely at night." Ventus punched his arm and Vanitas recoiled away from me to scowl, "Hey, man! I was only trying to be friendly!"

"Well don't. Your friendly is creepy."

"Sorry about Van," Sora said sincerely. "He's a little hard to get used to."

"That's not the only thing about me that's har –ow! Stop it, Ventus!"

Sora shook his head at his brother before turning back to me. "We'll give you some time to yourself and come get you when dinner's ready."

I nodded as he turned and left, ushering the others out along with him. The door closed and I finally had time to breathe. I flumped down on the bed and let out an enormous sigh. It had been one thing to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Strife, but another thing entirely to stay with them and their four boys. I felt like an imposition enough. The weight of the situation was still on my head, pressing me down further into the soft double mattress.

Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself. Things could be much worse. They could be nerds that have never seen a girl before. They could be psychotic maniacs that took samples of my hair and skin for DNA testing. They could all be obese and rude rather than the very attractive, god-like beings that they were. Sure they had some personality flaws, but what human doesn't? Sure Vanitas was kind of overbearing, but Sora and Ventus' level-headedness seemed to counteract his arrogance. Sure Roxas seemed to treat me like a nuisance rather than a guest, but we were just getting to know each other. I figured once we spent some time together, we'd all settle into a happy coexistence and maybe the year would be somewhat normal.

Boy, was I wrong.

* * *

Sora came to get me for supper and we walked down to the dining room.

The scene was vastly different from what I was used to. While it had been only my mother and I for quiet meals, the Strifes had a long table full of both people and food. Mr. Strife sat at the head while his sons, minus Sora, flanked him on either side. I assumed the empty seat at the foot was for Mrs. Strife and the two on either side of her were for me and Sora. One of the chairs mismatched the others and I guessed they had to have brought it from somewhere else in the house to accommodate me. It was placed next to Vanitas and Ventus and stood out like a sore thumb. I prayed I wouldn't have to sit there.

Either Sora was psychic, or he caught the glances Vanitas was not-so-discreetly sending my way, because he changed direction and went to take the seat. He ignored the glares his dark-haired brother shot at his head and filled his glass with water from the pitcher. He looked up and caught my gaze, smiling. I had to remember to thank him later.

Mrs. Strife came from the kitchen, carrying two pans of pizza fresh from the oven. She set them down.

I inhaled the delicious aroma. "Wow, this smells amazing. Did you make them Mrs. Strife?"

"Tifa," she corrected.

"No, no, Mom," Ventus laughed. "That's Kairi."

"Ha ha," Mrs. Strife said, rolling her eyes at the boys' collective snickers while grinning simultaneously."Very funny."

I took my place next to Roxas as Mrs. Strife sat down. Mr. Strife addressed me after his mild chuckles subsided. "I usually cook the meals, Kairi. Tifa just likes to walk in with the food so she can feel like a wife."

"Really?" I asked, incredulously.

Mrs. Strife's cheeks seemed to grow pink. She busied herself with cutting the pizza to distract from the colour. "I always wanted to be the perfect wife growing up," she said. "You know, looking after the house; cooking, cleaning. But it turns out I'm awful at domestics, so Cloud humors me. He's a fantastic chef, so it all works out. Besides, there's nothing hotter than a guy who can cook."

"And nothing cuter than a girl who can't," Mr. Strife added, smirking playfully at his wife.

The boys all gagged.

With the pizza cut, everyone started reaching for slices. There was pepperoni and Hawaiian. I took Hawaiian since I adored pineapple and tropical fruits. Sora, Roxas and Mr. Strife shared in my choice.

After a few quiet bites, Ventus decided to reinstate conversation. "So, Kairi, do you cook?"

I grimaced to myself as I swallowed. I hated being the subject of discussion. I was more of a listener than a talker and there was nothing I disliked more than prattling on about myself. "A little bit. I would always help Mom out with making supper. But I'm more of a baker."

"Cool!" Sora said, his mouth half-full with pizza. "What kinds of things do you bake?"

"Sora," Mr. Strife chastised. "Chew, swallow."

He obeyed. "My bad."

A smile tugged at my lips. "The usual," I answered. "Cakes, cookies, brownies, and their variants."

Ventus' jaw dropped. Luckily he had higher skill in the eating and manners department. "How is that 'the usual'? I can hardly make popcorn!"

"Popcorn has nothing to do with baking," Roxas pointed out.

"Exactly! Just imagine what chaos would ensue if I had access to an oven!"

"I don't have to imagine. You practically blew up the home ec. room at beginning of sophomore year."

My eyes grew wide. "That was you?"

Ventus ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah… I needed some sort of elective class and my friends suggested home economics. I think it's safe to say they regretted it later."

"What happened?" I asked, baffled to have discovered the famed "Kitchen Killer" of Destiny High.

"They were assigned to make a soufflé," Roxas explained, sardonically. "Ventus blended together explosives."

"I did not! I just got the portions mixed up and-"

"And the ceiling was repainted with soufflé batter," Roxas smirked.

Ventus didn't have a retort and the conversation died.

Mrs. Strife brought it back again when she found the silence too unbearable. "So, Kairi, you took home ec.?"

I shook my head. "No. I was planning on taking it last term of my second year, but," I sent Ventus an almost teasing look, "someone fried the appliances and the class was canceled."

He shrugged guiltily.

Mrs. Strife chose to ignore her son-in-law. "Are you taking it this semester?"

"Yup. Since I got most of my mandatory classes out of the way during the first two years of school, I'm taking some more basic courses like music, outdoor pursuits, Spanish, things like that."

"That's nice. Are any of the boys in your classes?"

My "no" was nearly drowned out by four echoing "yes"s. There was an awkward silence. I was stunned.

"You guys are in my classes?" I finally managed, flummoxed. Their eyes fixated on me in affirmation and I was struck with a sickening feeling of guilt. I hadn't noticed them? How was that even possible?

Mrs. Strife could feel the tension. She tried to dissolve it. "The semester only just started and I'm sure you were too busy paying attention in class to notice these slackers. They could learn a thing or two from you about schoolwork."

"We're usually surrounded by girls anyway," Vanitas said. "We'd be hard to spot." I wasn't sure if he was trying to make me feel better or if he was just gloating.

Either way, I still felt awful.

"It's no big deal," Sora said, taking a slice of pizza and inhaling half of it. "If Kairi didn't notice us, she didn't notice us. There are always people in high school that you never really know, even up until you graduate. She knows us know, isn't that what matters?"

And with that the tension mystically vanished. Everyone seemed to relax and I personally felt as if a million pounds had been lifted from my shoulders. I never felt so much gratitude towards anyone in my life. That was two I now owed Sora.

Things miraculously fell back into stride. We finished the rest of the pizzas and Mrs. Strife went to bring in dessert. It was a store-bought blueberry pie (apparently Mr. Strife's Achilles' heel was pastries) served with vanilla ice cream. The silence was astoundingly comfortable as we enjoyed the delicious treat.

Halfway through his pie, Roxas set his spoon down and let out in irritated breath. "Would whoever is trying to play footsies with Kairi please stop. You're off a meter to the right."

The table erupted in laughter as Sora and Ventus completely lost control, Mr. and Mrs. Strife following after seeing their eldest son's expression. Roxas remained stoically annoyed while I giggled, caught up with the infectious mirth from the other boys. As my abs began to hurt, I decided that maybe this year wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

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	3. Cinematic

**Apologies for the late update and chapter quality. I'll admit it's not my best.**

**Special thanks to xSHADOWASSASSINx, GengaJupite, ohnoitiskatie, Sorasgirl, and XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX.**

* * *

I helped Mrs. Strife with the dishes after supper. She was ecstatic for the help of another female and the guys were all happy they didn't have to dry. She handed me wet dishes, rambling on as I wiped them off with a towel and put them away into the cupboards above the counter.

"Don't get me wrong, the boys are great, but it's just nice to be able to spend some time with another girl. You can't gush about celebrities with your husband and his sons. I've always wanted a daughter you know. I hope you're ready for a year of girl bonding."

"Always," I said, smiling.

"Maybe you and I could go out for a shopping trip after we finish up with the dishes. We could get you some clothes for class tomorrow."

"You know as well I do that Destiny High has uniforms, Mrs. Strife."

"Kairi, if you don't start calling me Tifa -not Mrs. Tifa, mind you, just Tifa- I will have the boys pester you 24/7."

"But Mrs. Strife…"

"I'm serious, Kairi. I'll sick Vanitas on you."

"Sounds good to me," the dark-haired boy said, appearing in the kitchen. "When and where?"

"Here and now, if you want, Van," Mrs. Strife said, grinning malevolently at me.

He cast his stepmother an incredulous look. "Seriously? I mean, I'm not complaining, but normally I would have gotten hit rather than encouraged."

"Kairi needs to be taught a lesson. Until she caves, you're free to flirt to your heart's desire."

"Alright!" Vanitas cheered, a smirk stretching his face deviously. He lunged at me and I only just managed to scramble away.

In my haste, I collided with Sora as he and the others came into the kitchen. One look between my desperate state and Vanitas' predatory one was enough to fill him in on the situation. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me behind him as he acted as my shield. "Dude," he said to his brother, "you know you're a punishment right?"

"What are you doing, Tifa?" Roxas asked.

Mrs. Strife pouted childishly. "I just wanted Kairi to call me by my name. I've known her since she was in elementary school and it seems so cold for her to be calling me 'Mrs. Strife' all the time."

"Kairi can call you whatever she wants, Tifa." Sora said bluntly as if he was scolding a child. "Isn't it more important that we go out of our way to make her comfortable during her stay rather than blackmailing her to do as we wish?"

Mrs. Strife sighed. "You're right, as usual, Sora. Why must you always be the voice of reason?"

"Someone has to in this crazy family," he smiled.

"I'm so sorry, Kairi," she told me, her eyes big with apology. "I was being selfish. You can call me Mrs. Strife if you want to."

"Thank you," I said, coming from behind Sora. "But you're right. We have known each other for a long time; we're far from strangers. The least I can do, especially after you're letting me stay at your home while Mom is away, is to use your name, Tifa."

Within a millisecond I was suffocated my Mrs. Strife's ample bosom as she ensnared me in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Kairi! I'm so happy! This year is going to be wonderful! We'll go shopping and do our nails and get our hair done and-"

"Tifa!" Ventus yelled. "You're squashing her!"

"Oh!" she released me. "Sorry, honey."

I wheezed. "No problem."

"What are you boys doing here, anyway?" Tifa asked the brothers. "We all know that you avoid the kitchen unless you're hungry and we only just had supper."

"We were going to watch a movie and wanted some popcorn. We followed Van when he offered to make it." Sora said.

"None of us trusted him to go alone," Roxas added. He went to the pantry and threw a bag of popcorn into the nearby microwave.

Tifa folded her arms. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for school tomorrow?"

"Today's the last day of spring break," Sora said. "We've got to end it with a bang, not a whimper."

"You guys are done with the dishes, right? Why don't you join us, Kairi?" Ventus asked

I pushed down my nerves. I had to get used to these boys whether I liked it or not, and a movie seemed like as good as anything to break the ice. "Sure."

"Excellent!" Ventus exclaimed. He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room towards a set of stairs. "To the den!" He dashed down the flight and into the basement. Depositing me on a leather couch, he went to a shelf full of DVDs as the others joined us, Roxas trailing with the popcorn. "What kind of movie should we watch?"

"Horror," Vanitas said, plopping down beside me. He leaned in, wrapping an arm around my neck. "You can hide in my embrace if you get scared. I'll comfort you."

Sora smacked him across the head. "You're not sitting next to her. Move."

"You can't tell me where to sit," Vanitas scowled. "I'm the oldest."

"Three against one," Sora smirked, gesturing to the others. "You're freaking Kairi out. _Move_."

"Fine," he grumbled, getting up to sit on a loveseat that matched the couch.

Sora took his spot. "What do you say we let Kairi choose the movie?"

"Sure," Ventus chirped, coming to sit on the arm of the loveseat.

Still peeved at being shut down by his brothers, Vanitas grumbled, "Whatever."

Roxas huffed as he flumped on a leather la-z-boy. "Joy. Just what I wanted on the last day of break; a chick flick."

I got up from the couch and meandered towards the DVDs, hiding my frown. Roxas' attitude toward me was getting old. I would have to drop my polite facade in order for him, and the others, to understand the real me rather than have them think I'm some normal, preppy teenage girl. I scanned the titles, looking for something familiar. I caught sight of one of my favorites and pulled it from the shelf. "Sorry to disappoint you, Roxas," I said, a playful smirk teasing my lips. "But I'm more in the mood for a classic."

"_Lord of the Rings_?" Roxas wondered out loud, incredulous.

Ventus nearly fell off the arm. "Whoa."

Sora grinned. "Nice."

Vanitas was stunned silent in a pleasant change of pace.

"You can't be serious," Roxas said, his mouth agape.

I shrugged. "What, it's a good film."

"Of course it is, it's just…"

"How does a girl that looks like you, like a guy movie like _Lord of the Rings_?" Vanitas finished, finding his voice.

"I dunno. How does a guy that looks like you act like a mega pervert?" I countered.

"Hmm," Vanitas hummed, smirking deviously. I immediately wanted to take back my words. "Tell me, Kairi. Just what did you mean by, a guy that looks like me, huh?"

"Nothing special," I said, trying to keep my blush down. "Don't look into it. Are we going to watch the movie or what?"

"I'm not sure. I'm more interested in discussing the fact that you like _Lord of the Rings_."

"It's not that big of a deal," I said, folding my arms. "They're awesome films; right up there with the James Bond, Bourne, and Star Wars sagas." The boys' jaws all dropped. "What?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Sora said, shaking himself out of his stupor. "It's just girls typically don't like those movies."

"I'm not a typical girl."

"I guess not," Roxas said, a hint of a smile on his mouth.

"You're awesome," Ventus grinned. "You're like a dude in a chick's body."

"A very _hot_ chick's body." Vanitas wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

My cheeks warmed up. "Can we please just watch the movie?"

"Sure," Sora said, taking the DVD from me and going to put it into the player. The television flashed to life as the disk automatically started. "Everyone settle in. Vanitas, _stay_."

Roxas put the popcorn on the table between the furniture and returned to his recliner. Vanitas snatched it up and sulkily tossed some into his mouth. Ventus slid next to him cheerfully, leaving me the only option of returning to the leather couch where Sora had sat down.

He smiled at me as the New Line Cinema logo footage rolled. "Good choice with 'Two Towers'. It's the best out of the three."

"My thoughts exactly," I replied, unable to keep my grin from spreading across my face. I was glad I was sitting next to Sora. He made me feel at ease; like I'd known him for my entire life.

My brain tingled and my heart tugged. A memory danced on the fringe of my consciousness, leaping away as I reached for it. I gave up on retrieving it as the movie started. It was probably nothing.


	4. Rise and Shine

**As a reward for the excellent reception this story is receiving, I present to you a longer chapter! Keep up the good work in the reviews, and I'll reciprocate in updates!**

**Thanks to XxFlareblazexX, xSHADOWASSASSINx, and ohnoitisKatie.**

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* * *

The sun's rays shone through the window and beat my alarm clock to the task of waking me. Enjoying the warmth on my face, I snuggled into my pillow and enjoyed the peace of the morning before I had to get ready for school.

I felt additional warmth at my back but disregarded it, figuring Mom had come in during the night feeling lonely. It wouldn't have been the first time we had an impromptu slumber party. After Dad died when I was six, Mom clung to me even tighter than before and even though she would never admit it, I knew she had trouble sleeping some nights too. I'd find her snuggled in my blankets in the morning and we'd go down to make breakfast together once we were both awake. Maybe we'd make pancakes this morning.

I felt her stir.

I stretched a little and let out a comfortable sigh. "Morning."

"Good morning to you too."

My eyes flew open. I screamed and fell out of bed, taking half the covers and a pillow with me.

Vanitas' head peeked over the mattress down at me. "What cha doin' down there, darling?"

I wrapped sheets around me, covering the gracious amount of skin my nightgown did not. "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"Technically this is Sora's room," he pointed out, grinning roguishly. As he sat up, I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. With difficulty, I pulled my eyes away from his irritatingly glorious chest to his face and forced a scowl to mine.

"Which he let _me_ use. Now get out!"

"I just wanted to make sure you woke up on time. No need to be so hostile."

"And the fact that I'm in my nightgown has nothing to do it?" I asked, skeptically.

His golden eyes flashed as he smirked. "It's a nice bonus."

The door opened and Sora and Ventus burst in. Thankfully more clothed than their brother, they at least had the decency to wear t-shirts with their boxers. "We heard you scream. Are you… okay?" They froze, taking in the sight of me, sprawled on the floor with only some sheets and a thin nightgown covering my skin, and Vanitas, perched predatorily on the bed, ready to pounce. Ventus' eyes bulged and his mouth hung open while Sora cracked his knuckles and ground his teeth.

Roxas appeared, rubbing his eyes groggily. "What's going on, guys? I –what the hell?"

Vanitas puffed his chest as he lounged on the bed, trying to look as sensual as he could. "Nothing to see here, kiddies," he said condescendingly. "Back to bed."

"Vanitas," Sora growled, treading ominously towards his brother, "you've got some nerve."

Mr. and Mrs. Strife bustled into the room in their housecoats. Cloud was worked up in parental anxiety. "Is everything alright? Did Kairi have a nightmare?"

Tifa's gaze landed on Vanitas. "Van! What are you doing?"

"Busted," Roxas taunted.

"I just thought I'd help Kairi out of bed this morning," Vanitas tried. "Wouldn't want her late first day back from the break."

Sora helped me to my feet, mindful of the blankets covering me. He sent his brother a disapproving glare. "I think she can manage by herself."

"Sora's absolutely right," Tifa said, stalking towards the eldest of her husbands' sons. She grabbed him by his ear and yanked him to his feet. "You better get your act together, Vanitas. This isn't the way you should be treating a guest, let alone a girl. If you don't control your hormones, I'll control them for you."

"What?" he asked, taking a second to break from pain to confusion.

She sneered at him. "You're familiar with the reproductive system. I'm sure you know what part of the male body produces testosterone."

The men grimaced.

Tifa tossed Vanitas to the door. "Now you boys go get ready for school and leave Kairi to do the same. She'll meet you downstairs for breakfast." The guys trickled out the door and into the hall. Tifa looked back and winked at me. I gave her a grateful smile.

As soon as the door was closed, I collapsed face-first, into the bed. Breathing a rather loud and frustrated sigh into the mattress, I thanked the stars that Tifa was around. Had she not had a firm grasp on the household discipline, I doubted that I would survive the year. It seemed Vanitas was going to drive me to an early grave. Even after the movie last night, he had made a few more attempts to get in my preverbal pants. I was going to have to find some way to counter his advances.

Sora's alarm clock went off on the bedside table, yelling at me to stop daydreaming and get my butt in gear. Groaning, I pealed myself from the bed and staggered to turn off the alarm. The incessant cries pierced my ears and gave me a headache, only ceasing when I found the off switch.

I took a few moments to recollect my thoughts. I was not at home. I was at the Strifes while Mom was traveling for a film shoot. Cloud had four sons from his previous marriage and while two were agreeable, the other two were sulky and lecherous. We were to spend approximately a year together until my mother returned from the shoot. Spring break was over and school restarted this morning. I apparently had overlooked the presence of four god-like Adonises in my classes and now had to commute to the high school with said boys. I sighed and rose to my feet, making my way to the closet where I had hung my uniform overnight. Might as well get the day over with.

I had had a shower yesterday before coming to the Strifes, so I decided to postpone the disaster that was sure to ensue with morning bathroom routines and their coordination. Striping off my nightgown, I hastily pulled on the skirt and shirt of my uniform. My mind swam with the anxiety that Vanitas was peeping somehow, but I saw no eyes in the wall or crack in the door and began to relax. Maybe Tifa's threat had really gotten to him. Or maybe Sora and Ventus were guarding the door. Either way, I managed to dress in peace.

Brushing my hair and dusting some makeup on my face, I was ready for school with time to spare. I prided myself on being low maintenance, though on days like today, where I had to loiter in an unfamiliar house with a family I was only starting to get to know, I cursed my short beauty regime.

Deciding it would be better to dawdle with food in front of me rather than in Sora's room, I grabbed my school bag and tie and headed into the hall, nearly running into Ventus.

"Whoa, sorry!" he exclaimed, jumping back. "Nearly plowed you over!"

"It's alright!" I insisted, my manners kicking in. "I should watch where I'm going."

"A smart decision in a hectic house like ours," he said, grinning. His eyes wandered to the satchel dangling from my shoulder. "You're already set to go?"

"Yeah."

"Impressive. She likes Star Wars and she's a natural beauty," he grinned casually. "You know, it takes Sora half an hour to style his hair in the morning –and almost half a tube of gel."

"You're joking."

"I wish I was. He's the shame of the Strife family. The rest of us have fabulous bed-head. He's the only one that has to work for it."

"The poor thing," I teased sarcastically.

"Yeah. We thought of disowning him once, but he's the only one that can really stand up to Van. Since Roxas and I are the baby twins, he never listens to a thing either of us says."

"I wish I could relate, but I'm an only child."

"Lucky."

"Not entirely."

"Yeah, I know," he said, his face showing something akin to sympathy. "Siblings can be a pain, but at least they're company. You must get lonely."

Admittedly I was surprised he was able hit the nail on the head. "Yeah, I do."

"Well don't worry!" he yelled cheerfully. He snatched both my hands and held them enthusiastically. "As long as you're a part of our lives, we'll be there for you so you won't be lonely anymore. Even passed this year. We're friends now, and friends stick together, got it?"

"Y-yeah." His sincerity threw me off guard. I had to fight away grateful tears. "Thanks Ventus."

He smiled. "Call me Ven."

Another door opened and Sora emerged from his and Ven's room. He paused, partially because Ventus and I blocked the hallway, partially because he was having trouble processing our locked hands. "Uh, what's going on here?"

"Oh, hey, Sora!" Ventus said, grinning as he noticed his brother. "Finally finished with your hair, I see. Ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts! We're running behind already thanks to you and your unruly mane. To the dining room!" Ventus let go of one of my wrists and seized Sora's, dragging us down the stairs to the middle floor and through the kitchen. The scent of bacon and eggs washed over us. Tifa and Cloud were busy cooking breakfast –or rather Cloud was cooking breakfast while Tifa buttered the toast. "Good morning!" Ventus greeted, releasing Sora and I to sit at the island.

"A better morning than earlier anyway," Tifa said, spreading butter rather aggressively across some bread.

"I apologize for Van's behavior, Kairi," Cloud said to me, looking up from his pan-full of scrambling eggs. "We've already given him a good lecture and we'll go out to buy a lock for your door later today."

"Thank you very much," I said, resisting the urge to bow. "I'm sorry to be an inconvenience."

"Oh, Kairi!" Tifa cried in appalled insistence. "You're not an inconvenience! If anything, it's Vanitas that's the trouble. You're not at fault in any way!"

"Can I at least pay for the lock?" I offered.

Tifa frowned. "Absolutely not. I won't hear of it! You're our guest and as your hosts, it's our job to make you comfortable. That's final. Now have a seat and we'll have breakfast served up in a jiff!"

Sora took my shoulders and led me to the dining room table. "Just let her spoil you a bit. She doesn't have much chance to pamper us guys, and she's thrilled to have a girl in the house. Let her have her fun."

"So long as she doesn't coddle me to death," I smiled.

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," he grinned, pulling out a chair and setting me down.

"Thanks. But who's going to save me from _your_ indulging?" I joked.

A pink blush spread across his face as he ran a hand through his hair. "Too much?"

"Don't get me wrong, normally the knight in shining armor bit makes girls' knees weak. It's just that this princess can look after herself."

"Granted," he smirked. "But your highness shouldn't always bear things by herself. She should rely on her knights and members of court during times of need."

"You pose a valid point. Yours words have been heard, good Sir Knight and you have her Majesty's blessing for them."

"Oh lord," Roxas said, staring at us sordidly as he entered the dining/kitchen area. "It's like medieval gone wrong. We are never watching 'Two Towers' before bed again… nor 'Fellowship of the Ring' nor 'Return of the King' for that matter. What are guys even _doing_?"

"Sora's telling Kairi not to keep things to herself and to open up more to her friends as well as to us," Ventus said, his face full of scrambled eggs.

"But he's much sweeter about it than that." Tifa said, sauntering over with two plates of breakfast, setting them down in front of Sora and I. "Dig in. Van ate after his lecture, so you better be ready to go when he gets down. Yours is coming right up, Roxas."

"Cool," he said, sitting at the opposite end of the table.

"I can't wait until I get my license," Sora said, grumbling a bit as he forked eggs into his mouth. "Vanitas drives like a demon."

"He's driving us to school?" I asked between bites of my own food.

"It's eight kilometers from here," Roxas pointed out. "You planned on walking?"

I shrugged. "I walked to school from my house."

"Yeah, but isn't your house a lot closer to Destiny High?" Ventus asked.

"I wouldn't say it's a _lot_ closer. I'm only a few streets from here."

Roxas received his food from Tifa but kept his eyes trained on me. His voice was blunt as he asked, "then why are you staying here?"

Tifa smacked his head. "Roxas!"

"What?" he yelled. "It's a valid question!"

Cloud leaned out of the kitchen, his face and tone calm. "Kairi's here because Aerith was concerned about her being alone for a year. She knew her daughter was fully capable of looking after herself, but twelve months is a long time to be alone."

"What about her dad?"

Another smack. "_Roxas!_"

"_What?!"_

"No! No! It's alright!" I said hastily. "It was a long time ago. I don't mind."

Roxas froze rubbing his head. "What was a long time ago?"

"My dad's death."

The kitchen fell into an uncomfortable silence. Roxas' eyes grew wide and a look of shame overcame his features. Sora and Ventus looked sympathetic and Tifa and Cloud were wistful.

"Zack was a soldier," Cloud explained. He had fought with my dad a few times back when he was still in the military. Mom told me so. "He died in action about ten years ago."

"I'm sorry, Kairi," Roxas said with such sincerity I had to smile.

"It's okay. You didn't know."

Vanitas waltzed into the room and shouted boisterously, "Alright! Time to go kids! Destiny High awaits!" He stopped short when he caught everyone's expressions. "Whoa. Who died?"

"No one yet," Sora said, hurriedly changing the subject. He dropped his plate off on the island before going to loop an arm around Vanitas' neck. "But if we don't get to class on time, Principal Yen Sid will tan all of our hides. Let's get a move on!"


	5. First Day Back

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I'm really impressed with the response to this story. Keep it up!**

**There were too many reviews to thank everyone individually, but I appreciate every one of them. Thank you. You fuel the story.**

_**I have decided to make the updates longer rather than shorter (as I had considered previously). While this will improve the quality of the chapters and give you more to read, it will also take longer. I expect updates will happen at least once a week, but since I must juggle work, university and my other story, **_**Alternate****_, don't complain if it takes a little longer._**

**- I've added more to this chapter, so if you read the "Commute" chapter before, you can skip down a little if you want.**

* * *

Vanitas' car matched his personality to the tee. Cool and dark, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and obnoxiously loud. I found out the hard way that Van not only removed the muffler on his jet-black Camero, but also blasted his music through the speakers. Squeezed between Roxas and Ven in the back seat, I cringed against the harsh booms of the base.

The others were just as disgruntled. Ventus had his hands over his ears and Roxas had his plugged. "I can't hear myself think!" he yelled.

"Van! Turn it down!" Sora cried.

"What?" Vanitas shouted.

"Turn it down!"

"Turn it up? Sure thing, bro!"

I thought my ears would start bleeding as Vanitas dialed up the volume. Roxas' mouth spewed mute curses and I was pretty sure Ven was screaming.

Sora reached across the dash and twisted the volume off.

"What the hell, Sora?" Vanitas growled. "Car rule number one: no one but the driver can touch the controls!"

"If you hadn't tried to fry our brains, I wouldn't have had to!"

"You said turn it up!"

"I said turn it down! You were doing to make everyone deaf!"

"It wasn't _that_ loud."

Roxas, Ven, and I all chorused from the backseat. "Yes it was."

"Whatever. We're here anyway."

Vanitas parked the car and we started to climb out. Ventus went to the trunk to get our schoolbags. That was another con of Vanitas' car. It was tight as hell. We had to put our bags in the back just to prevent us from sitting on each others laps.

Ven passed me my satchel. I slung it over my shoulder as Vanitas snatched his pack rather roughly.

"Alright guys. Same deal as always. Meet back here by four or you're walking."

"How generous," I said sarcastically. "A ten minute window."

"Don't be late either, sweetheart," he warned. "I wait for no one. Not even you."

"Not even me? How will I ever survive without special treatment from the great Vanitas?" I smirked and headed for the door. The other boys chuckled and followed suit. Van eventually caught up.

Ventus quickened his pace to match mine. "So what class do you have first period?" he asked cordially.

"I've got Chemistry with Merlin."

Vanitas winked my way. "You should have chemistry with me."

I rolled my eyes but chose to say nothing. Instead I brought my attention back to Ven. "How about you?"

"Math," he grimaced. "It's the worst. I hate algebra in the morning."

"And you guys?" I asked the others.

"Physics," Vanitas said nonchalantly.

Sora sighed. "Biology."

My gaze landed on Roxas. I waited for his reply, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. He caught me staring. "What?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what your first class is?"

"Why would I?"

I quirked an eyebrow. What was up with the hostility? I thought we were starting to get along. "I asked, didn't I?"

"I don't have to answer if I don't want to."

I frowned.

"Don't worry about him," Sora said, hooking Roxas' neck and bringing him in to be teased. "He's just embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" I wondered, confused. "Why would he be embarrassed?"

"Common, Sora!" Roxas implored, his cheeks turning rosy. "Don't!"

"What's the big deal, dude?" Ven asked, grinning at the circumstance. "It's not even that bad."

I felt totally lost. "Someone mind filling me in?"

"Don't you dare!" Roxas cried.

"His class is…"

"I'm serious, Sora!"

"It's…."

"I'll kill you!"

"Oh, for the love of-!" Vanitas erupted, irritated. "It's art!"

"_Van_!"

"What?" he huffed. "If you didn't want anyone to know you took the class, why did you take it in the first place?"

"I needed more elective classes," Roxas grumbled. "Leave me alone."

"Whatever."

"Art class is cool," I said. Roxas snapped to lock eyes with me. He looked skeptical. "I think it's nice to be able to learn how to add some beauty to the world."

His gaze softened a bit. "You think?"

"Of course!" I smiled. "My friend takes art too. She's really good. You'll have to show us your work sometime."

"Sure," Roxas said, a rare smile on his lips.

Vanitas groaned and started off. "Well, enough of this mush. I've got a teacher to ignore and a class to sleep through. See you guys later." He sent me a look over his shoulder. "I'll see _you_ soon."

I didn't have time to dwell over Van's words as Ventus checked his watch and yelped. "First period starts in two minutes!"

"Yikes! We gotta go!" Roxas and Ven dashed towards their separate classes. Sora gave me a quick wave goodbye. "See ya, Kairi!"

I headed to my own classroom. "See ya! Don't faint during a dissection!"

I laughed as I heard his faint reply. "I make no promises!"

The bell rang to signal the start of class right as I plopped into my seat. My best friend from childhood, Riku Leonhart, gave me a playful smirk. His silver hair was messy as usual, hanging shaggily around his aquamarine eyes. He looked as if he had just rolled out of bed, but he still managed to be unnaturally attractive. The girls in class sent me envious looks. I was the only girl Riku ever hung out with since we were little. Girls were drama machines to him and he said that having one in his life was more than enough.

"Calling it close there, Kairi," he said.

"Not my fault," I said, taking my satchel off my shoulder. I quickly scanned the classroom. "Professor Merlin isn't even here yet."

"Yeah, but you know him. He'll make one of his grand entrances when you least expect it."

"And until then," I collapse onto our shared lab table, lying my head on the cool surface, "I'm going to sleep. Night."

My eyes were closed, but I could feel Riku leaning over me curiously. "What's up with you? Why are you so exhausted? And why do you smell like cologne?"

My face heated up. "Rough night."

"That doesn't explain the cologne."

"It's nothing."

I chanced a glance at Riku to find him frowning at me. "You never keep things from me. What's going on?"

"It's a long story," I admitted.

A puff of smoke appeared at the front of the class, dissipating to reveal our elderly professor, Merlin. The first few rows began coughing on the smog. Professor Merlin didn't seem to notice. "Good morning, students," he crooned. "We'll jump right into things. Get with your lab partner and begin assignment four. You'll find the details to the experiment in your text books on page ninety-eight. Have at it!"

Some people shuffled away from their friends to join their assigned lab partners but Riku and I stayed where we were. As luck would have it, we had been paired together at the beginning of the semester. We simply got out our books, flipping to the page that explained our assignment. As per our usual agreement, I fetched the tools we required while Riku grabbed the chemicals. He refused to let me handle anything dangerous because I was a girl. I told him that was sexist. He told me to deal with it.

Riku was like the older brother I never had. We met when my mother and I had first moved to Destiny Islands after Dad's death. He and his father were a few doors down from our new house and Mom was shocked to find Squall Leonhart, Riku's father, on her doorstep. Apparently the two had gone to school together. Mom would invite the two of them over, as well as Mr. Leonhart's wife, Rinoa, and Riku and I would go on adventures in the backyard. We became friends instantly and our parents loved setting up play dates. They joked about our closeness and even to this day continue to tease us about getting married some day.

We were just as inseparable in school. Because Riku was a year older than me, he flunked grade one just to be in the same school-year as me, much to the rage of his parents. He made it up to them in the following years by getting straight A's and becoming involved in sports teams. He would later become the star quarterback of Destiny High's football team. Every year he would pester me to try out for the cheerleading squad so I could root for him, but I always refused. I wouldn't stoop to chants and tiny skirts, not even to please my best friend.

About two years ago, Riku and his family moved across the island. Mom and his parents couldn't meet as frequently as they used to, but Riku and I always made time to hang out on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

Once we had all of our materials for the experiment, I started to measure out the dry chemicals while Riku worked with the caustic, liquid ones. "Spill it," he said as he filled a beaker a third of the way.

"I'd rather not," I said jokingly. "Do you know how dangerous spilling chemicals is?"

"Har-har. You're a riot, Kairi," he said disdainfully.

"I try."

He held my gaze with his serious, enchanting blue eyes. "Tell me what's up. Something happen over the break?"

I hesitated. Normally I would tell Riku anything and everything going on in my life like he was my personal psychiatrist. But he was over-protective, and tended to get a little crazed when boys occasionally tried to flirt with me. I didn't know how he'd react to the fact that I was living with four Greek gods. But my conscience nagged at me. Riku deserved the truth. I'd never lied to him before. Besides, if I didn't tell him now, he'd certainly find out later. I did have to drive with the guys to and from school; there was no way that could be kept under wraps.

"Earth to Kairi?"

I shook myself out of my apparent daze. "Oh, sorry."

"Well?"

I sighed. "You remember how I said that Mom had gotten that big movie job?"

"Yeah," he said. "She has to travel to the filming locations and won't be back for nearly a year… oh lord, don't tell me something happened?"

I jolted and hurriedly corrected him. "No! No! She's fine! That's not the problem…"

"So there _is_ a problem?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I caught Merlin sending us an apprehensive glance as we chatted. I grabbed chemicals and mixed them in a beaker to look productive. "I wouldn't really call it a _problem_, it's just…. You remember that I said Mom was leaving me in the care of her friend?"

"Sure. Tifa Strife, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," I said dully. Suddenly my head started to hurt. I felt kinda nauseous too. "Only it turns out it's not just her and her husband at their house." The room started to spin. Black dots clouded my vision. My voice barely made it out of my throat. "There's… these… four…" I couldn't finish as I tumbled to the floor and I fell unconscious.


	6. They Know Each Other?

**Thanks again for the reviews, follows and favorites. They're always appreciated.**

_**Just a note to those who may not have reread the last chapter: additional content was uploaded to make the chapter longer. If you only read the short version, go back and read chapter 5 before you read this one.**_

**Also, I've had a few people ask me about everyone's ages. I mentioned their years in high school, but to make things easier, Kairi is 16, Roxas/Ventus are 16, Sora is 17, Vanitas is 18. Van was born in the spring and Sora was born in the winter of the same year. Roxas and Ven were born the summer of the following year and thus they and Sora are able to be in the same grade (or so it goes in Canada).**

**Enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

I dreamt that I was crying. Only it wasn't the current sixteen-year-old version of me, but rather the five-year-old one. I was wearing a little black dress with lace that just went past my tiny knees. A prim black hat and matching shoes and stockings completed the somber look. While I should have been doing my best to keep the outfit clean, as Mom taught me to do with all my nice clothes, I had forgone my concern for neatness and was sitting in the dirt.

I was in a vacant lot beside the funeral home where my Dad's wake was taking place. I remembered that I had broken down inside and had run away to weep alone. Tears were running down my cheeks like a faucet and my hands, face and legs were grimy from the mud they were creating in the earth.

It wasn't fair. Why had my dad been the one taken? It could have been anyone. So why him? He was the best dad in the world. He loved Mom and me unconditionally, unfathomably. Even if Mom yelled at him, he would apologize immediately and give her a kiss. Even if I drew on the walls he said it was the best masterpiece he'd ever seen before helping me clean it up, telling me that next time I should draw such artwork on paper so it could be preserved rather than scrubbed away. He'd read me bedtime stories and he teach me sword fighting with wrapping paper tubes. Every night he told me how much he loved me and that I was his most beautiful baby girl… I sobbed even harder.

Footsteps crunched in the ground behind me and I turned, bleary eyed to see a boy coming towards me. The tears blurred his image, but I could hear his voice. He spoke with genuine concern and gentleness. "Are you alright?" he asked.

That voice… Didn't I know that voice…?

I awoke to the dim light bulbs of the school infirmary. A breeze came through the open window, ruffling the curtains and cooling the tears on my face. I reached up to touch to running droplets. I had been crying?

I was propped up on one of the cots with pillows and a couple blankets had been draped over me. A clock on the wall showed that it was 9:58. Period one was just about over. My head pounded. I groaned. What had happened?"

"Kairi?"

I looked around for the owner of the voice and spotted him sitting in a chair to my right. I wasn't entirely surprised to see him there. I smiled weakly. "Hey, Riku."

He came to stand by the side of my cot. His eyes had brightened and I could tell he was glad to see I was okay. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," I said. "What happened?"

"The chemicals you mixed together had a negative reaction. They created noxious fumes that knocked you out. Merlin's looking into things to make sure there are no side effects, but Nurse Mouse said you should be alright. She left to get some Tylenol a few minutes ago." He frowned at me. "You should have been more careful. Do you have any idea who worried I was?"

"Sorry," I said, a little too off-handedly.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Geez," he grimaced. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I said I was sorry," I grumbled.

"Sorry doesn't make up for the fact that I spent the entire first period worrying about you. You could have been seriously injured. I didn't know what I would have done if those chemicals seriously damaged your system or worse…"

His expression was blithe, but his words were sentimental. Suddenly I felt awful that I had caused him such anxiety. "Riku…"

He saw the depression in my eyes and softened. He let out a huff of air and pulled his lips into a smile. "Forget it," he said. "As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."

The school bell rang to signal the end of the period and almost immediately after, the door to the infirmary opened and footsteps hurried toward my cot. My first thought was that it was Nurse Mouse returning with my Tylenol, but the steps were too quick and heavy. They also lacked the traditional _click_ of woman's heels.

Ventus came bounding around the corner. His eyes connected with mine and before I could blink, he was on top of me in a crushing hug that could rival those of his step-mother. "Kairi!"

"Ven?!" I cried, too shocked to be embarrassed. "What are you doing?"

"I heard that you blacked out during Chemistry!" he said, so hysterical I thought he was about to burst into tears. I marveled at the efficiency of the school's rumor mill. "I came as soon as I could!"

Riku, who was pushed aside by Ventus, folded his arms. He didn't look too pleased. "Who's this guy?" he asked, brusquely.

Ven snapped up. His face was blank as he looked Riku over. "Who are you?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. "I asked first."

I jumped in before Riku did something brash. "This is Ventus Strife," I introduced. "Ven, this is my childhood friend, Riku."

"Your friend, huh?" Ventus said, smiling suddenly. He stuck out his hand. "Well, any friend of Kairi's is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you."

Riku was taken aback by Ven's friendliness. He allowed himself to be swept up in the moment and shook hands with him. "Uh, same here?" he said, his brain trying to catch up. Finally he seemed to accept that Ven was a friend rather than foe, though his face was contorted into something akin to puzzlement. "So you're Ventus, huh? I've heard about you a few times. I thought you'd look different."

"Really?"

"Kairi!"

I looked toward the door to see Vanitas, Roxas, and Sora come into the room.

"You okay?" Vanitas asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm alright. How did you-?"

"Ventus texted us, saying that you were dying," Roxas explained. "But you look like you're fine."

"_Very _fine," Vanitas commented seductively.

"Vanitas?" Riku said, as if only now identifying the boy. A frown was furrowing his forehead.

Van's eyes narrowed as they met him. "Riku?"

"Riku?" Sora asked, coming from behind his brothers to see for himself.

Riku's scowl disappeared and was replaced by recognition and surprise. "Sora?"

"Roxas?" Ventus grinned playfully at his twin.

He folded his arms. "Stop it."

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" I asked, lost.

Just as the boys were about to speak, the warning bell went off. Students had five minutes to get to class.

Ventus immediately went into a flurry. He grabbed his bag, which he had thrown off before tackling me, and flung it onto his back. "Sorry, Kairi! Gotta go! Hope you feel better!" He dashed out the door with a wave. "See ya!"

"We better go too," Roxas said, heading for the door. He looked at me over his shoulder. "See you, Kairi. Get well soon."

"But…I'm so confused!" I said, frowning. "How do you all know each other?"

"How about we meet for lunch?" Sora suggested. "We'll tell you about our relationships while you can explain to us what happened this morning. Deal?"

I withheld a pout. Lunch was after third period. I'd have to wait through two hours of mind-numbing curiosity as I thought about how Riku, Vanitas, and Sora knew each other before I got my answer. Maybe it was something easy, maybe it was something elaborate and dramatic… But I didn't have much choice in the matter. I nodded begrudgingly. "Deal."

"Our first lunch date," Vanitas teased. "I'm looking forward to it." He turned on his heel and made his way to the hall, waving blindly as he went. "See you, sweetheart!"

"_Sweetheart_?" Riku spat, the word like poison on his tongue. "Who does he think he is, that bastard…?"

Sora decided to not test Riku's temper by defending his brother. Instead he turned to me. "So, Kairi, are you feeling up to class?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "My headache is still lingering, but other than that, I feel fine."

"Great! We'd better hurry. Grab your bag! Ah, never mind, I'll get it." Sora snatched my satchel from the floor as Riku unnecessarily helped me stand. They both waited to make sure I was stable before Sora came and grabbed my wrist. "Let's go!" He led me out of the room, but not before turning to wave goodbye to my bewildered childhood friend. "See you at lunch, Riku!"

We almost ran headlong into Nurse Mouse as we turned the corner. Sora withdrew a few paces to avoid a collision and knocked into me. "Sorry!" he said. I wasn't sure whether he was talking to me or her.

"It's alright," Nurse Mouse replied gently. She was a kind, petite woman that radiated maternal comfort. "Just be careful and slow down next time."

"Of course." He caught sight of a little pill bottle in her hands and swiped it. "We'll take this. Thanks!" We left Nurse Mouse behind in a cloud of dust as Sora recommenced dragging me to class.

I stumbled at his pace and nearly tripped a few times. "Sora!" I called, staggering to keep up. "Where are you taking me?"

"Huh?" He looked back at me as if I had forgotten the obvious. "We're going to class."

"_We?_"

"Yeah. You've got Home Economics next, right? So do I."

My stomach tied itself in knots. So Sora had been in my Home Ec. class… I felt awful that he knew about me but I didn't know about him. I suddenly felt awkward and could only respond with, "oh".

He noticed my downcast gaze. "Hey, don't worry about it," he smiled. "I don't really don't stand out much in the class. I'm no Ventus; I don't destroy everything I touch in the kitchen, thank goodness. But I'm no chef either. I just kinda dissolve into the shadows. It's not that surprising that you've never noticed me before."

_Yes it is._ I thought to myself, taking in his physique subconsciously. I wondered at how I had missed his presence. Speaking quite frankly, all the Strifes were located on the "smoking hot" end of the beauty scale. It was astounding that I had gone almost three years without seeing or hearing of them.

"It really is okay," Sora insisted. "You were busy. You know us now, that's what matters." He paused to grin from ear to ear. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can be my Home Ec. partner for the next assignment. I'd love an 'A' for once."

I normally teamed up with a friend of mine named Selphie for Home Economics. She was a bubbly, friendly socialite that was a little too invested in public image. She lived a few streets away from my house and we had met at the beach one summer. We were pretty close. I knew that she wouldn't be too happy about me ditching her, but she had her eyes set on Tidus, a boy we had known since middle school. She had been thrilled to discover that he was in our class at the beginning of the year and something told me that she wouldn't be too upset about losing me if she somehow managed to get paired with him for the assignment.

I smiled genteelly. "I'm sure I can pull some strings."

"Sweet!" He cheered before smirking. "No pun intended."

I laughed.

We made it to the Home Ec. room with minutes to spare. I made a beeline for Selphie, who was casually talking to some of the other girls in class; gossiping no doubt. "Hey Selph!" I called.

She greeted me with avid eyes and immediately started into a flitter. "Kairi! Oh mi gosh! I heard about this morning! Are you alright? You're not going to die, right? Please tell me you're not doing to die!"

"I'm not going to die."

"Oh, thank goodness! You really had me worried, you know!" She looked at me with lingering concern.

"Sorry," I said, pulling her into a quick hug. "I'm fine though, see? Just a headache."

"Okay, if you say so…" She trailed off, suddenly tensing.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She acted like a deer having spotted a hunter. Her eyes were trained, never blinking as she waited to see if it would move. "Kairi…" she said, carefully. "What is Sora Strife doing with your school bag over his shoulder?"

"Huh?" Subconsciously, my body rotated to look at Sora. He was lazing around the doorway, waiting for me so we could pick a station. Sure enough, my satchel was still in his possession. "Oh, he grabbed it when he came to pick me up for class."

Selphie looked like she was going to swoon. She grabbed my shoulders for either support or seriousness. "You mean to tell me that Sora Strife, _the_ Sora Strife, went to get you for class?"

"Isn't that what I said?" I started when the colour drained from Selphie's face. "What?"

"Kairi, Sora's one of the Strife brothers!"

"Yeah, I know. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that the four Strifes are the most popular boys in school! Vanitas and Sora are like, the alpha dogs of Destiny High! We talk about them all the time!"

"No we don't."

"_We_ don't." She gestured to the two of us, then gestured to the other girls. "_We_ do. You just never listen. The Strifes are the gods of the school, Kairi! Everyone wants to either be or bang them."

I grimaced at her vulgarity and tried not to let my mind wander to the images they imposed.

She caught my distaste. "Oh, grow up, Kairi. You're in high school."

"Pardon me for not being crude."

"Whatever. You can't dance around the subject. What's going on between you and Sora and how did it happen?" Her eyes glittered with the prospect of my juicy story.

The school bell rang for second period.

"Look, Selphie, I don't have time right now. Miss White is going to be here any second. You're going to have to find another partner. I told Sora I'd help him today."

Her mouth nearly fell to the floor. "You're partnering with Sora?!"

"I'll tell you about it later."

"Are you kidding me? You've got to tell me everything right now!"

"There isn't enough time. I've got to go. Class is going to start-"

"No!" Selphie whined. "You can't just leave me! I don't even have anyone to be partners with!"

I sighed. Looking around the room, I spotted Tidus with his buddies. I strode to their station swiftly, hoping Miss White, the Home Economics teacher, would be a few minutes late so I could work my magic. "Hey boys," I greeted. "How's it going?"

They quickly took notice of me.

"Oh, hey Kairi," Wakka, another friend from middle school, acknowledged me. "We're just waiting for the teacher. Hard to start without her, ya?"

"You're a little excited for class. Can't wait to pig out on sweets?" I teased.

He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly and laughed. "Caught red handed. Nothing gets past you."

"Not much, no," I smirked. "Which reminds me, you guys have got three people in your group. Would one of you mind teaming up with Selphie?"

"You're not with Selphie?" Wakka asked, curiously.

I shook my head. "I've to help someone else today. But I can't leave her on her own…" I pretended to ponder the situation. I even added a fake epiphany. "Hey Tidus, why don't you partner with her?"

"Me?" he asked, taken aback. "My cooking's awful."

"Selphie can help you improve," I persuaded, taking his arm and slowly dragging him away from the others. "It's a win-win."

His face grew redder by the second. "But… I… I mean…"

"Just go with it, brudda!" Wakka laughed. "Maybe she can teach you how to break eggs properly!"

"It's settled then," I said. I pushed him to Selphie's station. "Have fun!"

I caught a look of shock and gratification from my friend before going to join Sora, who had taken the liberty of procuring a station for us. He was lounging in his chair, looking at me with mild amusement. My bag was sitting beside my seat. "That was sly," he smirked approvingly.

I shrugged. "Had to be done."

"To be partners with me." He sat up and grinned. "I'm flattered."

"Don't get carried away," I chastised playfully. "This is one of my favorite, and best, classes. Screw up my grade and I screw up your face."

He erupted with hearty, uncontrollable laughter. He tried to speak between hoots. "That… was so… street!"

Even as Miss White came into the room to start class, he was having a hard time containing his mirth. I gave him a few shoves, but they didn't help. I rolled my eyes and hoped that he would settle down sometime during the period. Otherwise I wasn't sure how I was going to manage.

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	7. Kitchen Shenanigans

**Sorry for the late update. I've been in a kind of funk this week and only managed to hammer out this chapter yesterday. Thanks again to all the reviews, favorites and follows. It's you and your support that keep this story going; I would have dropped it long ago had there not been such great reception. Keep it up!**

**Enjoy**

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Tifa was right. There really was nothing hotter than a guy who could cook.

Incidentally, Sora had lied about his average skills in the kitchen.

Our assignment for the day had been to make a fruit trifle; he and I chose strawberry. We decided to make the cake together and then focus on the whipped cream and pudding separately. I fetched the ingredients, measuring them out and pouring them into our bowl while Sora stirred. It seemed innocent enough at first, with him just whisking egg yolks together along with the milk and dash of vanilla, but once I added the dry ingredients, he tilted the bowl and whipped the batter like a chef. I nearly dropped the cooking spray in surprise. His technique was more refined than mine.

He stopped when he saw my wide eyes. "Am I doing it wrong?"

I jumped. "No! You're doing fine!" I stammered incredulously. "More than fine, you're marvelous."

He laughed and offered me a teasing grin. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

I quickly turned away to finish slicking the cake pan as I felt my face grow red.

Apparently, Sora had also fibbed about him dissolving into the shadows of the class. Eyes were on us almost every second and I could particularly feel the jealous stares of the female students. They glared especially when I was within a few feet of Sora. It was like he was the unobtainable god that some peasant girl managed to capture. And Sora thought he didn't stand out? Was he even blinder than me?

I tried to focus on the assignment rather than the wandering eyes.

Sora had finished blending the batter together. He brought the bowl over to where I stood with the cooking spray and well-coated pan. He drizzled the mix into the pan, scrapping the sides of the bowl with the spatula to ensure every drop made it into the cake, and then shoved it into the oven. We set the timer for twenty-five minutes.

"Now what?" Sora asked. He leaned on the counter languidly.

"We should get started on the strawberries and pudding," I replied, taking the carton of berries out of the little, station fridge. I set them by the sink. "You can wash and de-stem them. I'll cut them up."

He frowned a little. "Shouldn't it be the other way around? It'd be safer for you if I handled the knife."

"You sound like Riku," I groaned. "He's always trying to child-proof my life by wrapping me in bubble-wrap and sticking me in a hamster ball."

"Sounds like fun."

"It's not," I said, deadpanned. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate his concern and I know he just does it because he wants to keep me safe, but I'm not a kid anymore. I can look after myself. And even if I make a mistake, I'll learn from it. I can't do anything with Riku hovering around me like a mother hen."

He snorted at the image. "I don't think he'd like the comparison."

"Probably not," I smiled wryly. I paused, getting out a paring knife before asking, "You seem to be close to Riku."

"I am."

"How'd you guys meet?"

"Ah, ah." Sora chided, wagging a finger at me. "You'll get your answers soon enough, Kairi. Just be patient."

I pouted. "Fine."

We had a good system going on the strawberries. Sora cleaned the fruit, and then passed it to me. I cut the berries into slivers and the cycle continued. We worked efficiently like a machine, all the while joking around and teasing each other. Eventually I even forgot the students staring at us, and it became a world comprised entirely of Sora and I and a plate full of strawberries.

Once I had finished with the last of the fruit, Sora whisked up the pudding mix. He used the same impressive technique as before and was finished in under a minute. We put the substance in the fridge to set and moved on to the whip cream. Miss White was an advocate for the home-made, and thus were had been assigned to make the whipped topping from scratch.

Sora beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla together while I took the cake out of the oven and put it in the fridge to chill. I came over to inspect the consistency of the cream to find it perfectly fluffed. I scoop some with my finger and give it a taste.

"And?" Sora asked with touch of arrogance. "What does the lady chef think?"

"A little heavy," I lied. "Whip it for one more minute."

He dipped his finger into the bowl and tried some of the topping for himself. "Tastes fine to me."

I folded my arms. "You asked what I thought. I think it should be whipped for one more minute."

He shrugged and turned back to the bowl. "If I lighten up the whipped cream, will it you do the same?"

I scoffed. "I do _not_ need to lighten up."

"Yes you do," he persisted, whisking the cream again to please me. "I can tell you're tense. If it's the students, just ignore them. They're only staring because they're not used to seeing us together."

"I had managed to successfully block them out earlier," I said, now keenly aware of the stares coming our way. "Thanks for reminding me."

He grinned as he continued to work. "Well, whatever it is that's bothering you, just relax. Isn't this your favorite class? You don't want to ruin it by worrying about things that probably aren't worrying over. You're prettiest when you smile after all."

I smiled. Originally I had been miffed that Sora was so good in the kitchen when cooking was _my_ forte. That little haughty smirk he gave me moments ago had pressed a few too many buttons. I had already been on a curious edge trying to figure out the dynamic between Riku and the guys, so the show of ego made my switch flip and I had acted like a prick. Sora's whipped cream had tasted delicious, I just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of perfection on the first try. But his words calmed me down and I regretted my behavior. Sora was just so… kind. (I would have said sweet had the pun not been so cliché)

"Ah, there it is!" Sora beamed, the corners of his lips tugging higher as he looked at me with twinkling eyes. He set his whisk down in the sink and sneakily snuck his finger into the bowl. I didn't notice anything suspicious until he swiped at my face. He chuckled as I stared, cross-eyed at the whipped cream garnishing my nose. "How's that? Lighter?"

My smile turned dark as I quirked a playful eyebrow. I took some topping. "I don't know. What do you think?" Quick as lightning, I had the cream smothered on Sora's face.

"Oh, so you wanna play like that?" Sora glared mischievously and we erupted into a whipped cream war.

Our shrieks and cries as we tagged each other with the treat quickly got out of hand. Miss White bustled over to our station. She found us splattered from head to toe like poor victims of a paintball melee. She was surprised and irritated to say the least, but it was gentle Miss White, so no punishment came. Instead, she gave us a scolding for goofing off near dangerous appliances and reminded us to hurry and finish our trifle before class ended –which was apparently in ten minutes.

Sora and I stopped in our tracks, whipped cream dripping down our faces and melting in our hands. We grabbed some towels and quickly wiped off what mess we could before dashing around the station like it was DEFCON 1. We worked in a flurry, grabbing bowls and pudding and strawberries and cake. Sora had to make some new whipped cream as we wasted it all painting each other. In the end, our strawberry trifle was miraculously glorious… our station on the other hand was a train wreck.

"Sheesh," Sora mumbled, looking over the chaos as we waited for Miss White to grade our dessert. "You'd think Ven had been here."

"Is he really that bad?"

"He set fire to this whole room on his second day of class. Principal Yen Sid had to call the fire department. It made the front page of the paper."

"I must have missed that issue."

"We've got it framed at home."

Miss White finally arrived at our station. Her eyes went wide after seeing the clutter that littered out station and she brought a hand to cover her gaping mouth. "Oh my," she squeaked. "I certainly hope you two will clean this up after."

"So long as the mess doesn't affect our grade, Miss White," Sora said precariously, "we'd be happy to."

She sighed. "At least it's not as bad as your brother, Sora. Now let's test your dessert. What kind of trifle is this?"

"Strawberry," I informed, taking on my professional tone that I reserved for Home Ec. "It's a strawberry trifle with white cake and vanilla pudding, cushioned with freshly whipped whipped cream."

We handed her a spoon and she took a mouthful. We crossed our fingers, hoping our first attempt as a team turned out to be a success. Miss White delicately chewed and swallowed, her face tranquil in the most unnerving poker-face. She set the spoon down and made some notes on her clipboard. "Excellent flavor. The cake offsets the pudding and whipped cream well and the strawberries give it that sweet, burst of flavor to compliment the repeated vanilla theme. Well done, you two. A+."

An enormous, celebratory grin spread over Sora's face. He gave me an exuberant high-five.

Miss White smiled. "You two should work together more often." She moved onto the next group. "Remember to tidy up!"

Sora drooped. "Oh yeah."

I laughed as I tossed him a washcloth. "Don't be such a baby. Isn't cleaning worth an A+?"

He sighed melodramatically and started wiping down the counter. "I guess. And I suppose it's not all bad."

"Oh?"

He flashed me a charming, white smile. "I've got you for company."

I tried and failed to keep my face from turning red. I faced away from Sora until it dissipated.

As luck would have it, we finished cleaning up right as the period ended. The bell rang when our cloths hit the metal basin of the sink. Sora and I had decided to split the rest of the trifle so that we could share it with our friends. I was kind of curious as to whom he would give the dessert to, but I didn't pry. It wasn't any of my business.

We grabbed our bags, containers of trifle in hand. As we made our way out of the class, I struck up conversation. "So what class do you have next?"

"French. You?"

"English," I replied cheerfully. Though it wasn't as fun as Home Ec., I enjoyed English and was good at it.

Something flickered across his eyes. "Want me to walk you there?"

"Oh, you don't have to. I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"It's no bother."

I raised an eyebrow. "But isn't Lumiere's French class at the other end of the school? It'd be out of your way. You wouldn't have enough time to go from the east wing to the west."

"I can run."

"Don't be silly, Sora. Thanks for the offer, but I can manage getting to class on my own." He deflated and there was still something odd in his eyes, but I didn't ask about it. Instead I waved him off and headed down the hallway to the east wing. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you at lunch!"

I meandered through the halls, wondering to myself what had come over Sora. It's not like I was new to the school; I knew where my classes were. I could handle the crowds. Pushing and shoving were things you had to get used to in high school. But he seemed so anxious.

When I reached Professor Porter's class, I immediately scanned for my friend Xion. We usually sat together during class and she tended to copy off my notes. I'd reprimand her every now and then, telling her to pay more attention, but she rarely listened to me. She was too busy spacing out to listen in class.

I was surprised to see that she wasn't in her normal seat. I found her sitting in the back row, flanked on either side by delinquent jocks who texted furiously on their phones and listened to deafening music. Her arms were folded and she looked beyond pissed off.

"Hey, Xion," I greeted cautiously. "What's going on? Why are you sitting all the way back here?"

"I'll tell you why I'm sitting here, Kairi," she huffed, her eyes lit with ire. "That guy forced me out of my spot and this unfortunate seat was the only one available besides yours, and he sure as hell wouldn't let me sit there."

"What guy?"

"_Him_," Xion spat, pointing to the desk she normally occupied by the window.

My heart dropped into my stomach. Suddenly everything made sense. Sora's anxiety, all the cryptic comments this morning, the snide air that wafted from him… Yet another surprise I should have seen coming.

Sitting in Xion's seat was Vanitas Strife, as proud as ever as he preyed over the last remaining desk in the class. Mine.

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	8. Take Note

**Because of computer difficulties (my keyboard short-circuited), the update took longer than expect. **

**However, it's up now and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, though the style is slightly different than before. **

**What awaits Kairi with Van in her class? I'll stop "talking" and let you read to find out.**

**Enjoy.**

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While it was Xion who typically had the temper to contrast my sagacity, the sight of Vanitas invading one of my favorite classes set me off. Not only was he disrupting the serenity of my English class, but he held airs like he owned the room. Leaning arrogantly in Xion's chair, his arms draped on the back languidly, he appeared to be waiting for either the Professor, or me. I banked on the latter.

I skulked towards him and stood with a hand on my hip defiantly. I realized that it was all about attitude when dealing with Vanitas. I just had to be like Tifa and show him who was boss. I put as much authority into my voice as I could as I called him out. "What are you doing here?"

He turned to face me, his eyes rising to meet mine. That cocky smirk of his settled on his face as his eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah, Kairi. About time you got here. I almost thought you were going to be late."

"I've never been late in my life," I informed. "Don't dance around the question. What the hell are you doing in my English class?"

"No need for such vulgarity, sweetheart," he chuckled, his voice rich and dark and sending chills up my spine. "Curse words don't fit in your mouth. And for your information, this is my third period."

I do a double take. "Come again?"

He lounged in his/Xion's seat, grinning in apparent accomplishment. "I have English this period. Same as you."

"No you don't," I said insolently. "I've never seen you before."

He snorted. "I think we've established that your eyesight isn't very good when it comes to me and my brothers. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask the Prof. I'm sure he'd love to rant on about how I'm always late for class."

"You're always late?" I echoed rather pointlessly, my mouth working ahead of my brain. Suddenly it made sense why I never saw him.

"I try to slip in and take one of the back seats before the Prof sees me. Nine times out of ten it works…. Though you could probably chalk that up to the old Brit's eyes. He should get some glasses."

I folded my arms. "So why are you here now, taking my friend's spot?"

"I thought it'd be nice to spend more time together," he said, his voice dripping with feigned innocence. "Don't get me wrong, the view isn't bad at the back of the class, but I figured sitting beside you would be a nice change of pace."

"And if I don't want you to sit with me?" I asked boldly.

He smirked. "Tough."

I scowled. "You're intolerable, you know that?"

"You love me."

"Hardly."

The door opened and Professor Porter walked in, chirping morning greetings in his thick British accent. He meandered to the front of the room to begin class, but got caught up in conversation with a few girls about their new cell phones. Professor Porter had an inherent fascination with any new technology. He was like a magpie attracted to the shine of new metal.

Vanitas grinned deviously. "Look at that. Guess class doesn't start for another twenty minutes."

My hand found my hip again. "Then that gives you plenty of time to get out of Xion's seat."

"'Fraid not, darling," he laughed. "I'm not moving. You just get extra time to chat to yours truly."

"Joy," I grimaced.

"Isn't it?" A triumphant grin stretched his lips. He patted the top of my desk beside him. "Come sit, sweetheart. There's no telling how long that crow will be."

"I'll sit when you leave."

"So you plan on staying there even when Prof starts class?" he mocked. "Something tells me he won't be too impressed with you standing throughout the period."

I leered at Vanitas. He was right, of course, and it ticked me off. His entire attitude ticked me off. Why was he being so stubborn? "Would you just go away? I want to sit with my friend."

"Aren't I your friend?"

"You typically don't act like one. Last time I checked, friends don't try to seduce friends."

He quirked an eyebrow suggestively, a matching smile dawning his features. "Then I think it's high time you get some new ones."

I wanted to scream. "You are just… Insufferable!"

"But in a charming way."

"More like irritating."

"Is sitting with me really that horrible?" He asked suddenly, his expression and tone turning surprisingly sincere.

I crossed my arms and replied icily, "I'd rather sit on the floor."

He sat up in a sudden burst of seriousness. His eyes locked with mine and I felt as if he could see into my brain. He seemed to probe into my thoughts in an attempt to find the answer to some unasked question. He didn't grab me or anything, but I felt trapped, like his gaze was pinning me down. The deep gold of his irises were mesmerizing and I found myself thinking them oddly beautiful. I wondered if they were natural.

Finally he spoke, and his words burrowed into me. "You must really hate me."

_Hate_? Did I hate Vanitas? He was annoying, yes, but hate was such a strong word. I certainly didn't loathe him. He just got on my nerves. He wasn't cruel; he was just a flirt who didn't know when to stop teasing. A part of me actually kind of liked his tenacity… deep, deep down. But he thought I hated him… He refused to let it show in his body language, but his eyes held a tinge of sadness and his voice carried regret, maybe even despair. Looking back, maybe I was a little too harsh…

I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Professor Porter. Having finished his ogling at the cell phone, he finally remembered that we had a lesson to get through. Toddling to the front of the room, he set his bag down on his desk and squeaked in salutation. "Alright students, it's time to get started! We're going to be studying some Romantic poetry today, so please open your anthologies to page forty-six and –Kairi, my dear! Why ever are you standing up? Do you have a question?"

My cheeks turned red and I hastily sat down next to Vanitas. "No, sir! I was… just stretching my legs before we begin class. You know how uncomfortable these chairs can be…"

"Oh, yes! Yes! Quite!" he tittered good-naturedly. I thanked the stars for his naivety. "I completely understand. A very intelligent action to take, Kairi, I commend you for it. And it's good to see you on time today, Mr. Strife," he said, sending Vanitas a borderline critical look. "Thank you for your unusual punctuality."

"Anytime Prof!" Vanitas said, his mischievous manner returning to him as he added, "So long as it's convenient for me!"

Professor Porter frowned and cleared his throat indignantly. "Yes, well perhaps you will find it _convenient_ to attend class regularly. You may find learning to be very handy when exams come 'round. Now then class, page forty-six, Romantic poets…"

* * *

While irritating, it came as no surprise that I wasn't able to pay attention to the Professor as he talked about William Wordsworth and John Keats. Vanitas simply radiated distraction, from his annoyingly attractive appearance to his simple mannerisms. I found myself being drawn in to the way he tapped on the desk, ruffled his hair and chewed on his pen. I was too aware of his presence; any movement he made put me on edge. In an attempt to distract myself, I'd look back every now and then to see how Xion was doing, but her head was buried in her arms as she either slept or plotted revenge.

About halfway through the class, the pen Van had clamped between his teeth slipped out of his fingers and clattered to the floor conspicuously. With wary eyes I watched him move to pick it up, bending towards me in order to reach it. When he lingered, and I assumed his gaze to be wandering, I gave him a swift and silent knee to the temple. The force alone wasn't enough to hurt him, but the impact propelled him into the steel leg of my desk and the sound of skull hitting metal harmonized with his outcries of pain. I couldn't fight back my smirk as Vanitas tried to convince Professor Porter the accident was caused by his own clumsiness. An innocent grin alighted my mouth as he sent me a glare. It was his fault after all.

Even after that, he still refused to leave me alone. I found a scrap of paper creeping toward the edge of my desk. I rolled my eyes and ignored it, trying to read _The Tables Turned_. But Vanitas kept sliding it closer until I had no other option other than read it. Written in shockingly legible handwriting for a guy, the paper read, _'Sup, baby? What 'cha thinking about?_

I scoffed and pushed the scrap away, returning to my anthology. A minute later it was replaced by a new one. This one said, _If you're thinking about me, roll your eyes._

My brain once again running slow, I did just that. Vanitas grinned victoriously. He scribbled down a few words before passing me the note. _I knew it. You're crazy about me._

Frowning, I grabbed my pencil with resolve. He wanted to play? I could play. I'd give him a dose of his own medicine. _You're right_, I wrote. _You drive me crazy._

His eyebrows rose a little in surprise at my response, clearly not expecting such an answer. Regardless, he regained his composure and handed me back the paper, his words reigniting his flirty teasing. _With love?_

_What else?_ I replied, hoping to throw him for a loop.

He was certainly taken aback. But then his lip curled up in a roguish grin that chilled my blood. My face paled when the note slid back. _Desire? Lust?_

A blush crept up my cheeks as I felt myself getting angry and irritated. He was trying to get me flustered and it was working. But I wasn't going to let him win. I took special care in my response, making it as elaborate and descriptive as I could in the hopes that it would throw him off. When I was finished, I set down my pencil and passed it along, too embarrassed to reread my words.

I watched Vanitas' golden eyes scan the note. They grew wide at _I want to throw you down_ and clouded over at _rip open your shirt_. My face grew warmer with every word he read and I started to wonder if I had gone too far. It was so out of my character to write things like that and I was starting to regret doing so, even if it seemingly succeeded in tripping up Van.

Abruptly the paper was ripped from Vanitas' eager hands and Professor Porter stood before us, inspecting the page with disapproving interest. "What do we have here?" he asked. It was a pointless question. Everyone knew it was a note.

"Don't mind that, Professor," I tried, frantically. There would be a huge misunderstanding if the Professor read what I wrote. "We were just… uh, we were…"

"We wanted to discuss the genius of Coleridge, sir," Vanitas piped. "And since it wouldn't be polite to talk during your lesson, we wrote down our thoughts."

"Oh really?" The Professor asked in marveled cheer, astoundingly falling for Vanitas' farce. "Perhaps we should read it aloud to the class, then. We're just about to discuss Mr. Samuel Coleridge."

I almost shouted in protest, but Vanitas once again had things covered. "There's quite a lot of slang in it, Professor. I'm not sure that you would understand."

"We'll see," he said heedlessly, and to my mortification, began reading. His brows furrowed in confusion and I could see him rereading sentences in an attempt to understand them. Finally he gave up and held the paper out to Van, which the boy snatched readily. "It appears you were right, Vanitas. I can't make head or tail of your teenage jargon. By the by, what are hickies?"

Vanitas smirked, sending me a mischievous, knowing glance as he responded to the Professor. "I'll tell you later, sir. Perhaps for the moment we could continue with your excellent lesson?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Professor Porter snapped to attention, scurrying back to the front of the class. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes! Byron!"

Van's shoulders slumped in relief. He caught my gaze and gave me a wink. "Close call, sweetheart. Next time you write me something like this," he brandished the note, "try not to get caught, okay? They're for my eyes only." He pocketed the paper and turned his attention to his anthology for the first time since the period began.

Though I wasn't sure what Vanitas planned on doing with it, the note and its embarrassing contents were safe. I was relieved, but my stomach churned, tying itself in confused knots. Just when I'd thought I had Vanitas pegged for a no-good, skirt-chasing, playboy, he went and pulled something noble. He'd put his neck on the line to save me from major embarrassment. It was… _nice_ of him.

He peered at me, his eyes glinting with playful amusement, and I felt something strange stir in me uncomfortably. Just who was Vanitas… and what did I feel towards him?

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	9. Bagged Lunch

**Okay, okay, okay! So I know it's been a while since the last update, and I'm super sorry about that. With work and exams and the like, it was hard to find the time to sit down and hammer out the next chapter. But lo-and-behold! it's finally here. **

**I tried to make the chapter longer to make it up to you guys, though it seems like it ended up becoming more filler. There's lots of interactions between the characters though, so kudos to character development...**

**One final note is that while class has ended for me for the summer, I'll be working a lot more hours, so I'm not sure when the next update will happen. I've got a good idea of where it will go direction and plot wise, but I don't know when I'll be able to get it done. Fingers crossed it happens within the week, two tops.**

**Without further ado...**

**Enjoy.**

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When there was only fifteen minutes left of class, the Professor gave us a quick writing assignment. "With the traits you have learned from today's lessons, I'd like you to compose a short Romantic poem of your own. It can be of any length you'd like, just ensure it follows the Romantic parameters. Hand them in to me when you're finished; you may leave after doing so."

Pencils and pens erupted into a flurry of scribbles as the class started writing. There was always a rush to finish third period assignments as quickly as possible so students could leave early for lunch. The school's cafeteria was constantly jam-packed, and if you didn't book it there as soon as the bell rung, you'd be waiting in line for half the hour.

I stared at my sheet of loose-leaf blankly, fiddling with my mechanical pencil. I knew the rules of the Romantic era: importance of nature, interest in the common, spontaneity, individualization… but I couldn't find the worlds. My brain was stuck. "Stupid poetry," I mumbled to myself.

Vanitas' deep chuckle rumbled beside me.

"What's your problem?" I asked rather bitterly. Fifteen minutes wasn't enough time to write a poem and I was feeling time ticking away. I never did do well under pressure.

"Nothing," he smirked. "Just enjoying watching you squirm."

_Sadistic bastard._ "Like you could do better."

He put his pen down and flashed me his paper. Written were at least ten lines of poetry scrawled in that impossibly neat writing of his. I could only read the first few lines before Vanitas withdrew the paper. I had to have misread them because "With every breath my lungs doth take, my love struck heart begins to ache" sounded _way_ too gushy to have come from a bad boy like Van.

Flaunting the finished poem in my face a few more times, Vanitas rose from his chair. "Better finish up soon, Kairi," he whispered in my ear. Involuntary shivers ran up my spine. "You wouldn't want to be late for our lunch date, now would you?" He strutted to Professor Porter's desk, handing in his paper with a flourish. He turned to leave the room, but not before giving me a devious wink. "See you soon, babe."

I sent him a scowl I hoped would make him drop dead. Unfortunately it failed and Vanitas walked out the door, so full of arrogance and swagger I thought he'd swell.

Feeling the pressure of time and the boring stares of the students still left in the room, I furiously scribbled some useless lines so I could leave the suffocating classroom. I hurried to the front of the class to give my pitiful poem to Professor Porter (yeah, sure, _now_ I make the clever alliteration). As I turned to leave, Xion got up and passed me on the way to hand in her own poem, which, from what I could see from the mess of scrawls on her loose-leaf, was barely a couplet. She caught up to me just outside the door.

"So, Kairi," she drawled, linking our arms as she sidled up to me. I knew the friendly gesture was a rouse to keep me from escaping. Her grip was unnecessarily tight as she steered us toward the cafeteria. "Mind telling me what all that was about?"

"What what was all about?" I asked, trying to play dumb.

Xion shook her head at me pointedly. "Don't even try, Kai. You can't act all innocent when Vanitas Strife goes out of his way to sit beside you. What's going on?"

"Why do you care?" I said, trying to wiggle out of her hold. "I thought you hated Vanitas."

"I do. Bastard took my seat," she said nonchalantly. "But that doesn't mean I can ignore the fact that he's one of the hottest boys in school. He and his brothers are the head honchos here. If he's interested in you, it's a big deal!"

"It really isn't," I insisted. "I mean, he can't be _that _popular."

She sent me skeptical look. "You're kidding right? The Strifes are the center of the school. Their looks, attitudes and personalities attract people like wildfire. There isn't a day where the Strife boys aren't on everyone's tongues. You move under a rock or something?"

"No," I huff indignantly. "I usually mind my own business."

"Even so, Selphie's always going on and on about them. She always manages to turn the conversation to them somehow. How have you not heard of them?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I honestly have no idea how I only just clued in to their existence."

She caught sight of the wrinkles in my forehead and realized I was generally troubled. Trying to cheer me up, she teased. "You hit your head or something?"

Her attempt to lighten the mood reminded me of how grateful I was to have her for a friend. When I'd find myself getting uncomfortable in tense atmosphere, I could always count on Xion to help me out.

"Maybe," I said, grinning at her folly. "Who are you again?"

She snorted. "Yeah right, Kairi. We both know you could never forget about _me_."

"Regardless of how many times I've tried."

She gave me a shove, laughing as we entered the cafeteria.

There was already a crowd of early-birds and jiggers queued up to the windows of the back wall in wait of their food. Some lunch-lady favorites had already gotten their meals and occupied a couple of tables, chatting loudly as they dug into their hamburgers and pizza. Despite the quantity of students, this was considered quiet in our school.

"Awesome," Xion beamed. "We beat the rush! Double cheeseburger, here I come!" Regardless of her tiny figure, Xion was renowned for her bottomless stomach. She grinned at me. "What are you getting?"

Suddenly I was reminded of the bagged lunch in my locker. A gift from Tifa, she had handed it to me this morning, claiming that she had made it herself in commemoration of classes restarting. When she had left to give the boys their lunches, Cloud switched bags with me, giving me a new one filled with a BLT sandwich, chopped fruit, a granola bar and a pudding cup. He told me to keep it a secret from Tifa and gave me a wink.

"Sorry, Xion," I said, slipping my arm out of hers. "I've got my own today."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? You haven't packed a lunch since middle school. What's the special occasion?"

I shrugged. "First day back."

"Well I'll save you a seat. Hurry back," she sang as she headed to the back of the line.

"Wait, Xion!" I called after her. She turned back. "I, uh, can't have lunch with you today."

"What?"

"I have to meet with someone."

"Really?" she said, obviously surprised that I would want to spend lunch with someone other than her. "Who? Naminé?"

I shook my head carefully. Xion would flip if I told her I was going to meet the others for lunch. She'd probably be fine with Sora, but knowing her vehement hatred for Vanitas, and the apparent obsession with the guys' popularity, it was safer to leave out the Strifes. "Riku. We promised to have lunch together today."

"Ah, of course," she smirked. "The childhood beau. Well, don't let me keep you. Enjoy your romantic picnic."

"You know we're not like that."

"Whatever." She turned toward to the queue. "I gotta go before they're sold out of burgers. Tell Riku I said hi."

"Sure thing. See ya!"

As Xion bounded to the back of the line, I turned on my heel and headed to the east wing to retrieve Cloud's bagged lunch from my locker. Passing by familiar faces, I offered friendly grins that masked my inner turmoil. I was anxious to see Van and Sora, but at the same time, I had to keep from skipping with excitement at being so close to having my curiosity sated. The puzzle of how the guys knew each other would finally be solved. My stomach turned in thrilled knots.

As I reached my locker, I found Riku waiting for me.

He was leaning against my door with his arms crossed in a languid manner. I greeted him with a wave and a look of slight confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought we were supposed to meet for lunch."

"We were," he said, pushing off my locker to give me access. I go and dial in my combination. "We just didn't decide where."

I paused and mulled it over. "I guess we didn't. Wow, how stupid are we?"

"Well, it's not like we can't find each other. We're already together, so we just need to find Sora and Vanitas," he spat out Van's name like it was poison stinging his tongue.

"Shouldn't be too hard," I said, pulling my locker open and piling my books inside. "Just follow the screaming girls, right?"

Riku leaned against the locker next to mine. "Not exactly. The Strifes may be popular, but their fame is generally unwanted. They tend to take the time to take obscure routes around the school just to avoid running into rabid fans. I'll have to text Sora and tell him to grab Vanitas and meet us at the oak."

I grabbed my lunch and closed my door, twirling the lock and resetting the combo. "Sounds like a plan. Makes sure you tell them to hurry. I've waited all day to find out how you three know each other."

"And I've waited all day to find out why you smell like men's axe. When're you going to let me in on that? And what's with the lunch?" he asked, eyeing my bag. "Don't you usually buy from the caf?"

My phone vibrated in my pocket and let off a little jingle, saying that I had received a text message. I rummaged to get it out, half-heartedly replying to Riku in the process, my attention split. "I'll tell you about it later. It's kind of a long story and it might take –what the-?"

I peered at the cell phone's screen in confusion and bafflement that mingled with the bright, embarrassed hue of my cheeks. Riku, intrigued by my flummoxed reaction, pushed off the lockers to catch a glimpse of the display over my shoulder. "What's up?"

My mind went into a temporary lapse and Riku's eyes landed on the text before I could stop him. His eyebrows shot up, then furrowed as he read the message. _"Hey, babe. Miss u already. Can't get u off my mind. Ur words really stuck with me earlier. Hope you deliver ;) BTW, Sora and I are at the oak. Chop chop!"_ The message itself was bad enough, but when Riku saw the name of the sender he was livid.

"Why the hell is _Vanitas_ texting you like that?" he scowled, demanding answers as he folded his arms.

"I don't know!" I insisted, gazing at my phone in equal disbelief. "I'm not even sure how he got my number."

"He had to have gotten it somehow, Kairi," Riku said, eyeing me suspiciously.

I frowned at him. "I _didn't_ give it to him. He must have gotten it for himself off my phone this morning."

Riku quirked an eyebrow. "This morning? When did you see Vanitas this morning?"

I avoided his gaze, too guilty to look him in the eye. "We ran into each other before class," I said, tactfully twisting the truth and leaving out the juicy tidbit that our little "run in" was in a bed with hardly any clothing. "Now let's go. We have to meet the others. I want answers."

"Yeah," Riku mumbled. "You and me both."

I started off first towards the main doors of the high school that led out to the grounds. The lack of information about my strange behavior had set Riku on edge to the point of moody sulking and increased irritability. While Riku was my best friend and all, he had an intimidating demeanor when temperamental. He was the kind of person that needed a cool-down period. Like a power-up, or volcano. It was only when we made it outside that we fell into step.

We walked side by side towards the giant oak tree in the center of the grounds. We could see Sora and Vanitas sitting on the ground and leaning against the trunk as they waited for us. Riku didn't seem too pleased to see the raven-haired boy, but Sora's presence seemed to raise his spirits.

I waved as we got closer and Riku offered Sora a nod of acknowledgement. The brunette beamed and waved in greeting. "Hey guys! Beautiful day, huh?"

"Beautiful dame too," Vanitas said flirtatiously, sending a coy wink my way. "Hiya, gorgeous."

Riku sneered. "Hello to you too, Van." He sat, disgruntled, between the brothers and propped his elbow of Vanitas' shoulder. "You know, it's funny, Kairi got a lovely text from you a few minutes ago. Mine must have gotten lost on its way."

"Yeah," Vanitas said brusquely, brushing Riku's arm off. "Cell signal's bad right here. But don't you worry, those nudes will be on their way ASAP."

"Why you little—"

"Knock it off, you two," Sora scolded. "You're acting like preschoolers."

Riku and Vanitas broke apart. Van crossed his arms, mumbling "Yes, mom," under his breath while Riku turned away from him and sent me slight apologetic glances, ashamed for having lost his temper in front of me.

With the rabble temporarily taken care of, Sora settled. He smiled up at me and pat the grass beside him. "Might as well sit down, Kairi. We've got the whole lunch period."

"Oh yeah," I said awkwardly, moving to sit next to Sora where he had indicated. "Right."

Feeling the remaining tension from Riku and Van, Sora jumped right into things. "Okay," he said, down-to-business. "First things first. Kairi, what happened this morning?"

I didn't waste time complaining about how I wanted them to explain themselves and their relation first. I knew it was pointless to argue. My story was short anyway. Might as well get it over with and move on. "I wasn't paying attention this morning during chemistry and accidentally mixed some chemicals that had a negative reaction. They created a gas that knocked me out and I woke up in the infirmary a while later."

"Are you alright?" Sora asked, his eyes filled with concern and his brows knitted with unease. A blush crept up to my cheeks at his reaction. He acted like he was generally worried by my wellbeing, even though we only just met.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Professor Merlin seemed to think things were okay, and Nurse Minnie thought everything was alright. I just had a headache for most of the morning."

"At least you're all right now," Vanitas said idly, resting against the tree trunk lazily. His eyes were closed as he basked in the sunlight, making it seem like he wasn't paying attention, even though he obviously was. "Take it easy next time."

"He's right," Sora said. "You should be more careful, especially around harsh chemicals."

"Yeah, I know," I said with a small smile. "It won't happen again."

Riku rumbled, "Damn straight it won't. I told you it was too dangerous for you to handle the chemicals in class. You've got recording duty for a month. Hope you've got lots of 0.5 lead. You're going to need it with all the writing you'll be doing."

Vanitas let out a loud breath through his nose in a sort of laugh. "What are you? Her dad?"

"Of course not," Riku scowled. "I'm just concerned for her. She could have gotten seriously hurt."

"But she didn't." Vanitas continued to talk with his eyes closed, enjoying the sun's warmth rather than Riku's icy glower. "You can be concerned without being overbearing and overprotective. The way you're acting, you might as well slap a collar on Kairi and call her Spot. She's her own person, you know, not your pet."

"I _know_ that," Riku fumed.

"Yeah?" Van asked, cracking open an eyelid to send Riku a golden glare. "You sure don't act like you do."

Riku didn't have a response. He seemed to shy away, maybe even shrink, from Vanitas' piercing gaze. He turned his attention to the ground and proceeded to pluck at the blades of grass in a silent fury.

Vanitas, who looked pleased to have won the argument, turned to look at me. "Okay, Kairi. You've waited long enough. Where do you want us to start?"

I shrugged even though I knew exactly where I wanted them to begin. "Wherever you guys started."

"Alrighty then," Vanitas said, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smug smirk. "Buckle up. This'll be a bumpy ride."

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	10. Their Hour Upon the Stage

**Thanks to all who reviewed! I heard you loud and clear! **

**There's a few things I wanted to address before moving onto the next chapter. **

**First of all, sorry for making you wait another chapter to find out how Riku, Sora and Van know each other. However, that being said, since this is intended to be a long story (possibly novel length), there's going to be a lot of suspense... you'll see more of it in this chapter. Please be patient. I know you all want to know the plot points ASAP, but that whole point of a story is to string you along and make you WANT to know things that you have to wait for. That's just how it is.**

**Also, I'd like to remind you all that Ventus and Roxas are not the ones with a complicated relationship with Riku. It's only Sora and Vanitas. You'll remember back in "They Know Each Other", that Ventus hadn't even met Riku yet, so please don't ask where the twins are in this chapter. There'll be more of them to come, I promise. **

**Finally, as a teaser, I thought I'd let you know that Axel will be making an appearance in the next chapter.**

**(small additional Author's note: I don't know a lot about American football, so if there is no such thing as an assistant captain, please forgive me)**

**Now I've made you wait enough...**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

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"Since the silver wonder seems to be out of commission, I take it it's upon Sora and I to regale you with our fantastical tale of the past?" Vanitas asked, grinning mischievously. He crossed one ankle over another as he tucked his arms behind his head. He cast haughty sidelong glances at Riku, who was still picking at the grass in a silent rage.

I watched Riku too, wishing I could do something to get him to come out of his temper-induced sulk. But something told me that even if I did manage to cheer him up, Vanitas would simply rile him up again in a matter of minutes. "Yeah," I said, slightly disheartened at my friend's behavior. "I guess so."

"Don't worry, Kairi," Sora said as he opened his bagged lunch. I wasn't sure whether his was from Tifa or Cloud. "Riku tends to get like this around Van. He'll snap out of it in a little while." He pulled an egg salad sandwich from the bag. Definitely from Cloud. He took a huge bite and started to talk, crumbs spewing every which way in the process. "Mow, phor how we aw meh…"

"For crying out loud, Sora," Vanitas groaned, sending his brother a look of disgust. "Swallow before you speak!"

He smiled sheepishly, his cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk's. On anyone else it would have looked idiotic, but on Sora it was somehow strangely adorable. "Phowy," he apologized meekly, crewing for a few seconds before swallowing his mouthful.

Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Honestly. I don't know why you're so popular."

Sora ignored him. "I guess it all began when we were starting high school. We had all been sorted into the same gym class."

"Which apparently set a trend for the next two years, regardless of the fact that I'm a year older…" Vanitas said, his tone sour.

"Only nine months older than me, Van, and you're not even older than Riku, since he failed a grade" Sora reminded, before getting back to his story. "Anyway, Riku and I were grouped together with the higher grade's class because of our athletic prowess," he explained, a playful twinkle in his eye.

Vanitas snorted. "'Athletic prowess' my ass."

Sora smirked. "It's happened every year since grade nine. Anyway, that's where we all met."

That made sense. Riku had always been better than the other guys in sports. And I sort of remembered him telling me something about advanced classes whenever I'd ask him about why he wasn't grouped with the rest of us. "Okay," I accepted, "so then why do Vanitas and Riku not get along?"

Sora sent my silver haired friend a look of sympathy. "Ah, well, now we're getting into the nitty-gritty."

"Nothing nitty-gritty about it," Vanitas said, getting to his feet. He wandered closer to Sora and I, choosing to lean against the tree right in front of me so he could look down into my eyes as he spoke. "Listen, sweetheart, you're buddy here is only miffed at me because he's jealous."

Riku's ear perked at the words. His head snapped to shoot a murderous glare at the raven boy. "_Excuse_ me?"

"You heard me, Silver," Vanitas challenged, his golden eyes flashing. "You hate me because you want to be me."

"That's bull and you know it!" Riku roared, jumping to his feet. He stormed up to Van, nearly plowing me over in the process, and stabbed his finger into his chest. "I hate you because you-"

Vanitas pushed Riku's hand away before bringing his face dangerously close to Riku's. His glare seemed to warn my friend, sending icy shivers to the bottom of his soul. "Because I tried to sabotage your tryout?"

There was a second of what seemed to be confused hesitation on Riku's face before his anger returned. "Damn straight! You could have ruined everything!"

"But I didn't, did I? My plan backfired and you got captain." Vanitas crossed his arms. "Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"_Thanking_ you?" Riku echoed incredulously. "You've got to be shitting me! You tried to ruin my chance of making the team all so you could assure your own position! Had I not been able to make the catch, I wouldn't have even made the team, you jackass!"

Van raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I didn't plan for you to make the catch?"

Riku gritted his teeth. "Because you're horrible friend who only looks out for himself. You banked on me missing the catch so you could stay team captain. I saw the look on your face when you saw the ball in my hand."

"Whatever. I made you look like a hero either way."

Riku's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "That's the worst part right there," he snarled. "You're not even sorry about what happened."

"I'm sorry you caught the ball," Vanitas sneered.

Riku snapped. "_What's your problem?!_" He roared, snatching the front of Van's shirt to bark in his face. "We used to be friends and then you go and do something so idiotically selfish! The only reason I haven't ripped you apart yet is that things worked themselves out!"

"Hey now," Vanitas said, just as cool as ever even with a wild Riku snapping at his jugular. The only trace of malice was in his eyes. They seemed to glint threateningly almost as if to tell Riku to tread lightly, if that made any sense… which to me it didn't. "Haven't I been given the short end of the stick here?"

"It's your own damn fault!" Riku bellowed, his chest heaving from livid adrenaline. I'd never seen him so furious. Veins were popping in his neck. "Had you not have been so selfish, none of this would have happened! It's all your fault, you stupid son of a bitch, so you're just going to have to live with the consequences! You're lucky that's such a harsh punishment. I would have punch your lights out every day for what you did to her-"

"Riku!" Sora yelled in a sharp reprimand. It snapped Riku out of his craze and he dumbly let go of Vanitas' shirt, letting his hand fall to his side. He regarded the ebony boy with hatred, but his previous, fiery ire had diminished considerably as if Sora's voice had slapped him out of his unbridled rage and back into the present day. Turning on his heel, he silently returned to his spot on the grass after giving Van one last glare. He resumed picking at the grass.

Vanitas put on calm airs as he fixed his shirt, smoothing the wrinkles caused by Riku's clenched fist. I could tell that he was perturbed though, the way his eyebrows were ever so slightly crinkled downward, and how when he wasn't staring intently on the ground, he was casting sidelong glances at Riku. His eyes were unfocused and his mind wandered as he was sent whirling from reality into whatever thoughts Riku had drudged up. My own eyebrows furrowed as I tried to understand what had just happened.

Sora was looking between them as well. However, he regarded them both with disdain. He spoke to me as he watched them, his arms folded in disappointment. "These two just get so wound up," he said. "They're like hostile bear cubs clawing and scratching at each other. Sometimes it's hard to pull them apart." He gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about letting you see that."

"I-it's okay," I said, my voice cracking a little from both shock and low volume as my words came out just above a whisper. "I was just surprised. I'd never seen Riku act like that before…"

Sora ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, he can get carried away when Van's around. There's a lot of tension between them."

"I can tell," I said quietly.

"Don't worry though," Sora added quickly. "Riku's a nice guy. From what I can tell, he only get's this angry around Vanitas. And that's just because of their history."

"About that," I said, slightly awkward at having to ask bluntly. "I couldn't really follow the conversation. What exactly happened?"

"Well," Sora began, taking a second to collect and put his thoughts in order. He was careful to find the right words so that he didn't say the wrong thing. "It happened in grade nine during our first year in high school. Riku and I were transferred to the grade ten's class on the first day because we were stronger and had higher endurance than the others grade nines. I introduced him to Van and we started to hang out together during class and after. We were pretty close… Then we started the football section of the gym curriculum. At first we had fun tossing the ball around and playing friendly rounds of flag. Vanitas even invited us out to the football team's tryouts. He was captain of the team then and saw an opportunity to both improve the team and to hang out with us more. But then…"

I peered at Van from the corner of my eye as I said, "But then Vanitas got jealous." Said boy's chest emitted a low grumble and he turned away from me, but he didn't deny it.

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. "Riku was naturally skilled at all sports, but he especially excelled at football. Soon Van was irritated at his talent and regretted inviting him to the tryouts, regardless of the fact that he'd undoubtedly help the team grow stronger. He started to get touchy towards Riku, snapping at him whenever he'd crack a joke or tease. It got to the point where Van was so angry that the day of the tryouts, in order to make sure that Riku wouldn't outshine him, he tried to rig the passing machine so it'd throw the ball impossibly high and fast. Riku was able to catch the pass though, and the coach was so impressed that he not only let him on the team, but made him team captain, demoting Vanitas to assistant captain.

"Our friend Tidus had seen Van messing with the passing machine and had the decency to tell Riku about it. Naturally Riku confronted Vanitas about and they had a grand ol' brawl; battle scars and everything. They've been on the outs ever since."

I looked at Riku who had been glancing at me expectantly from his peripheral, waiting to see my reaction to the story. When our eyes connected, he darted his away from me quickly in what appeared to be guilt. The corners of my lips drooped. "You never told me."

He spoke to the ground, refusing to meet my gaze again. "It wasn't important. Vanitas was a part of my life, not yours. I didn't want to burden you with my problems."

Vanitas muttered under his breath, "You got a lot to learn about friendship."

"Why can't you just stay out of my life?" Riku growled.

"Would love to, Silver," Van said, glaring daggers at the back of my friend's head. "But _someone _happens to be my captain. You're kinda unavoidable. Especially since the move…"

I raised an eyebrow. "Move?"

"Kairi!"

All our heads turned to see my friend Olette scrambling towards us up the lawn. When she reached us, she was out of breath and sweat glistened on her forehead. "Olette," I greeted, admittedly confused, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to find you," she huffed. "Miss Fa sent out a search party to bring you in for practice!"

"Practice?" I asked, puzzled. Olette and I were members of the school's tennis team. She had begged me at the beginning of grade ten to join since they only needed one more member and a new faculty advisor to keep the team going. I agreed to join if they could find a teacher to coach us, and sure enough, the school's Mandarin teacher, Miss Fa Mulan (we learned how to say her name properly in the Oriental fashion), accepted the position. I was pretty good at tennis since Mom and I would play on occasion when I was growing up. She said it was good exercise for the both of us, but I knew she needed it more than me. As an up-and-coming movie star, she had to stay in shape or risk being fired. I loved our matches and enjoyed the time we could spend together though, so I didn't care what her motives were. "There's no practice today."

"Yes there is," Olette insisted. "Remember last week when Miss Fa switched Tuesday's lunch-hour practice to today because she had a scheduling conflict? She promised her boyfriend that she would meet him for lunch."

"Shit!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. The curse had slipped out before I could stop it, my body too flooded with anxiety to filter my words. "You're right! Oh man, she's going to kill me!" I snatched my lunch and gave the boys quick glances. "Sorry guys, I've got to go!"

There was no time for the boys to bid me farewell as Olette impatiently said, "Come on, Kairi!" and grabbed my hand, starting to drag me away.

"See you later!" I managed to shout before I had to turn around and follow Olette so I wouldn't stumble and fall to the ground with her constant tugging. We hurried back to the school in order to salvage whatever we could of our lunch-hour practice.

I chanced a look back at the guys before we were too far away. To my surprise they weren't fighting, but had rather deflated like popped inflatables, Vanitas with his arms dangling at his sides and his head resting on the tree trunk and Sora and Riku lying sprawled on the ground. They looked exhausted and somewhat relieved, like they had just won an intense football game. I decided later that they looked more like actors having finished a long, elaborate play because, as I found out, that's what they had been.

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	11. O'Brian, a Pitch, and the Wardrobe

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**Just a quick note before moving on to the chapter. What you are about to read contains copious amounts of Axel and all the charms that come with him. The relationship he has with Kairi is very borderline and can be interpreted in multiple ways. There was never much seen between Axel and Kairi in the games, so their relationship is never really defined (the whole kidnapping episode is incredibly vague). I'm going to leave it to you whether or not you want the two of them to be more than friends or not in this story.**

**And for those who want more of Sora, ****_fear not!_**** There's going to be plenty of Sora/Kairi in the chapters to come.**

**Additional note: people have been telling me that I left out Kairi's introduction, saying that she never told Axel her name even though he knows it. This was _intentional. _You'll find out more later.  
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**Now enjoy the chapter.**

I was convinced that the person who invented lunch-hour practices was a horrible, sadistic person who enjoyed making people suffer and sweat. If it wasn't bad enough to be missing out on the glorious hour-long break from classes that could have been spent peacefully enjoying a reprieve, the time was instead spent on running back and forth, swinging a moderately sized racket at a fuzzy, green projectile. To make matters worse, Miss Fa was sure to work us twice as hard in order to make up for time lost searching for me. She was a great teacher and coach and everything, but Miss Fa certainly took things seriously… a commendable trait all the girls on the team thought was her strong point until she compressed a two hour after-school practice into a less-than-one-hour lunch period so that she could have lunch with her boyfriend, Li Shang, on Tuesday.

There wasn't much time to clean up after practice before fourth period started, so I just stuck my head under a faucet to rinse the sweat out of my hair and reapplied deodorant. There was just enough time to change clothes before I had to leave the locker room in fear of being tardy. I slung my bag over my shoulder and gathered my hair into a quick ponytail as I scurried to Mrs. Rose's music class.

Mrs. Rose was one of my favorite teachers. A free spirited woman, she believed the flow of music to be incredibly spiritual and personal. As a result, she allowed students to wander, reflect, and seek inspiration either by themselves or with friends during the period in order to find the most meaningful songs and muses. The music instrument itself was flexible to Mrs. Rose and students could pick whatever they wanted to play from tubas to trumpets to harps to cellos to drums to voice. Whatever they wanted, so long as the school had it, they could play it. I myself dabbled in singing and had just started learning guitar.

I bustled to the music room in the hopes that I'd make it on time for class with enough time to grab a guitar. It was always first come, first serve when it came to instruments and if I was late, I would be out of luck in regards to my guitar lesson for the day. Wary of the hall monitors scouring the corridors for miscreants and students attempting to play hooky, I all but sprinted to Mrs. Rose's class.

I skidded to a stop outside the music room and dashed inside. Flinging my bag beside a random chair, I immediately turned my attention toward the instrument closet. "Closet" was a tame word for what was really a giant vault built into the side wall of the classroom. It was essentially the Narnia of all instruments, with shelves and rows upon rows of various music equipment. There was usually a minimum of two instruments per, with a maximum of five or six of the more popular, conventional ones.

To my luck, there was a single guitar case left on the shelf. A grin spread across my face as I reached for the handle, marveling at my good fortune. However, my elated smile disappeared as a hand came from my left and snatched it, proceeding to pull the instrument off the ledge to their side.

I took a step back and stared in a stupor at the offender, my jaw hanging open slightly in upset and then in awe. My eyes bulged as I took in the man in front of me. The guitar thief was absolutely gorgeous! At least six feet tall, he towered over me, his toned chest straining the tight white tee of his school uniform and directly in line with my gaze. When I managed to pry my eyes off his pecs, they drifted straight to his hair. Bright red, like angry flames engulfing a rose, his locks were tamed into long spikes that slicked back and framed his face. The crimson hue offset his emerald eyes beautifully, and highlighted the two strange, blackish-purple, reverse-teardrop tattoos under his eyes. The rest of his body seemed lithe but well sculpted, like a lean guy who kept in shape. I nearly melted at his voice.

"Oh, hey, sorry," he said, in an easy, flowing voice. He held up the guitar case. "Did you want this?"

Surprisingly, my voice didn't betray me. "I'm trying to learn," I explained, attempting to stay calm and friendly. "But you can use it if you'd like. I can always sing for the period."

"Nah," he said, shaking his head and grinning carelessly. He held out the case to me. "You take it. I'm pretty good on the violin, believe it or not, though not as good as I am on the drums. But I'm not going to take the time to drag out a set –especially when we get to wander around the school during the period." When I didn't take the handle, he pushed the case into my hands. "Take it. There're still three violins left."

I eventually accepted the guitar. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Anything for a pretty girl like you. I should be playing more violin anyway. I was a regular Vivaldi when I was younger; made girls swoon left and right."

I smiled at the joke. There was something about this guy that just put me at ease. At first glance, he looked like a ne'er-do-well and his general appearance seemed daunting and dangerous. But his personality was calming and I felt like I could joke around with him and be myself, like he was an old friend. "Oh, I bet."

He gave me a wink. "And that was _before_ puberty." I giggled. He knelt down to the bottom shelf where the smaller string instruments were kept. He looked up at me as he pulled out a case. "You laugh, but I was quite the little lady's man."

"Was?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow teasingly. "You aren't now?"

"No," he said, standing. "Now I'm a bona fide Casanova. Girls just line up to date me. Want an express pass?"

I laughed. "A tempting offer, but I'm the type of girl that likes to get to know guys before dating them."

"Well then let me introduce myself," he smiled charmingly. "The name's Axel O'Brian. Got it memorized?"

"I'm sure I can handle remembering. It's a simple enough name."

"Simple, yet elegant," Axel joked. "The name of legends. I want everyone to remember me for years and years to come."

"That shouldn't be a problem," I said. "I've only known you for a few minutes and I already feel like I've known you for years. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget you."

A sad look crossed his face. He looked away. "That's what they always say."

We fell into silence. Axel was obviously upset about something that I wasn't aware of and I didn't know how to console him. I shifted on my feet until the bell rang. The sound allowed me to change the topic. "We better find a place to practice before all the good spots in the school are taken. I'd rather not have to end up playing guitar in the girls' washroom. Do you usually play by yourself? I've never seen you around before."

Axel perked up, clearly pleased to move on to different conversation. "I typically come early with my friend. We grab instruments and head off to a secret spot in the school to rehearse. We go during the break so no one can follow us. We like to keep our secret spot a secret."

I was disappointed with his words. He was so easy to be around, I wanted to spend more time with Axel. "I see. Well, I'll let you go meet your friend then. It was nice to meet you, Axel." I turned on my heel and headed for the soundproof room at the back of the class, hoping it was unoccupied, but something caught my wrist.

I looked back to find Axel, one hand on his violin case, one hand curled on my forearm. He looked at me, affable and amiable. "Hang on there! Where are you going? Did you think I wasn't going to invite you to join us?"

I was slightly taken aback. "Well you _did_ say you wanted to keep your spot a secret. I figured…"

"You figured wrong. You're a pretty cool chick, Kairi. I'm sure my friend won't be bothered by you playing with us. The only problem is the secretiveness of our spot. We want to keep it hidden from the other students, so…" he set his violin on the floor and undid his tie. Snapping it off his neck, he took the ends in his hands and wrapped it around my head, above my eyes.

"Hey!" I protested, flailing, but not fighting. "What's the big idea?"

"This is for your own protection," his voice said in my ear. "We can't have you being kidnapped and tortured for information, now can we? Don't worry, I won't do anything weird. It's only a few minutes away. Just hold tight and don't let go of my hand, okay?"

I gave a mute nod and allowed Axel to lead me out the class and through the corridors after grabbing my school bag. Fourth period had started, so the only noise in the halls belonged to those in our music class that were still searching for a place to practice. I could hear their curious murmurs at Axel's hand intertwined with mine but the blindfold-tie spared me from their glances. I figured I must be a hot topic of gossip around the school by now, with all the boys seemingly giving me special treatment. I hoped Selphie would help pacify the buzz around me in the rumour mill. I hated drama.

True to his word, Axel did nothing but guide me through the hallways. The trip was also as short as he said, and we stopped after a couple of minutes. Axel left me for a second, telling me to stay put for a little, and there was a strange clanking and jangling. The noise didn't last long. I heard a door open and shut behind us as Axel ushered me inside flipped a light switch. Within a few seconds, I could feel him untying his tie from the back of my head. The silky fabric slid from my vision, grazing my nose and neck, and I took in my surroundings. Before me were racks and tables and shelves and cases full of costumes and props. There were dresses, hats, boas, swords, shoes, canes; the list went on and on for as far as the eye could see. _This_ kind of drama I loved.

My eyes had to be the size of Frisbees. "What is this place?"

"Cool, huh?" Axel grinned, pleased with my amazed daze and slack jaw. "We stumbled on it a few months ago during an after school game of unauthorized Hide-and-Seek. I'd come across the door and picked the lock. Turns out this is the school theatre's prop house. They don't use it that much anymore, as you no doubt know, since the school hasn't put on a performance since the beginning of last year."

"And you practice here?" I asked, still looking around the room and it's splendor in absolute wonder.

"Yup. I've got pretty good skill with a lock pick, so we just lock up when we leave and no one is the wiser. We try to leave everything the way we find it –not that anyone would notice if anything was misplaced or missing. But it's secluded and the acoustics are surprisingly good."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, curiously. I sang out a smooth "hello?" to test the alleged sound quality. I sent Axel an impressed eyebrow-raise when my voice echoed back decently.

"Told ya," he smiled, walking up to a table to set down his violin case. "You've got a nice voice, by the way. You sure you wouldn't rather sing?"

"Nice try," I smirked. "But I'm not giving you the guitar."

"Are you positive? It's been a while since I've played the violin. I could make your ears bleed."

"You should have thought of that before you gave me the guitar."

He chuckled as he flicked the metal clasps open and lifted the case lid. "Alright, alright. I concede defeat. Curse my manners." He gingerly lifted the polished violin and bow from the velvet. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"What about your friend?" I asked, looking around the room, finding no one. I quirked an eyebrow. "You didn't lie about him so you could get me alone in a room, did you?"

A jocular, sultry glaze covered his features as he smirked. "Now there's an idea. I'll have to get that one memorized."

"I'll take that as a no then."

"Of course I didn't make him up," he said seriously, his lopsided grin betraying his sombre countenance. "I'm not that kind of guy. He's just late. He tends to get caught up every now and then. He'll be along."

"Whatever you say, Slick." I said, setting my guitar on the ground to open the case. Axel rustled through some sheet music. "We're supposed to be learning 'Ave Maria', right?"

"Yeah," Axel sighed, disheartened. "While I appreciate the classics, I wished Mrs. Rose had picked something more contemporary. You know, like something we'd actually like to play outside of school?"

"What? You don't like playing opera at home?"

Axel chuckled and bonked the top of my head lightly with the strings of his bow. "For your information, missy, I'm in a rock band."

While admittedly impressed, I continued to tease. "Violin in a rock band, huh? I'll bet your rendition of 'Highway to Hell' is very inspiring."

"Not violin, smart ass," he chided, poking my side this time. "Drums. And I'll also have you know that the violin can compliment any genre of music."

"Whoa," I said, withholding a snort. "Touchy."

"Passionate," he corrected, flourishing his bow. "I took lessons for six years, so I was kinda forced to develop an attachment to the violin. I will not have anyone, no matter how hot they may be, insult its integrity."

"Are you going to keep being melodramatic, or are you going to play?"

"Getting impatient now, are we?" he smiled. Swaying on his feet in playful arrogance, he brought his violin to his chin. "I suppose I could grace you with the honor of hearing the magnificence of the great Axel O'Brian's bow. Any requests, milady?"

"'Ave Maria', if you please, good sir," I grinned.

"As you wish," he said, taking a gracious bow. When he straightened, he gestured to a velvet upholstered throne tucked away along the wall with the various other large props. Taking the cue, I went to sit upon it. The velvet was soft and cushioned and I settled right in, putting on regal airs. Axel grinned. He spied a tiara on top of a high shelf amidst numerous caps and other hats and took it down, plopping it unceremoniously on my head. He stepped back and bowed again before bringing the violin back to his chin. "And now, if it would please your majesty, 'Ave Maria'."

Above all other instruments, it was always the strings that made my breath catch. Even when I was little and my mom would play the piano, I would be drawn to the sounds coming from the upright. I'd watch the hammers in the back hit the steel strings with rapt interest, my ears gleefully taking in the trill of the notes. When I was introduced to the guitar, I fell in love and yearned to learn but never had the resources until high school to do so. Soon I was immersed into the world of string instruments, and I adored the sound of them all. I'd melt at the cello, sigh at the mandarin, shiver at the bass, and now, as I listened to Axel, I was lost in a trance. He played with skill and precision, running his bow along the strings of his violin elegantly. The air sang the melancholy notes and I was almost moved to tears. I'd never heard "Ave Maria" played so emotionally.

A little over halfway into the song, when tears were threatening to well in my eyes, Axel played the wrong note and his performance came to a halt two minutes too soon. "Damn," he said, lower the violin to his side. "I forget the rest."

I was breathless. "That was beautiful."

"You think?" he asked, trying and failing to keep the pride out of his voice. "It sounds a lot better when someone's singing with the violin. Care to accompany me?"

I shook my head vehemently. "Not a chance. I don't know the words. They're all German."

He brandished the sheet music, which had been conveniently printed with the song's lines. "Thank God for lyrics then, huh?"

"Not going to happen," I insisted. "Besides, I'm trying to learn it on guitar first."

"But won't it be good to learn to sing the song too? Might make it easier to learn the chords."

"Maybe. But I'm not going to sing today."

Axel pouted. "Spoil sport."

"Hey," I said, pointing to the tiara still on my head. "That's 'Queen Spoil Sport' to you! And if I'm the queen," I smirked, prancing from my seat to a hat rack near the door and snatching the jester's hat I had spied earlier, "that makes you the fool!" I hopped to reach his head and yanked the hat over his lion's mane of hair.

Axel looked ridiculous with the hat but still managed to keep his overall cool demeanor. He looked up at one of the bells dangling in front of his nose and gave it a flick. It jangled and bounced around. He focus turned to me as he took in my amused expression and a devious smirk alighted his lips. "So her majesty wants me to make her laugh?"

His green eyes glinted mischievously. I backed away as he advanced on me. "Axel…" I warned. "Axel, don't!"

I turned on my heel to run, but he was too fast. His hands flew out and grabbed my waist, pulling me back into his arms as his fingers began to torment my skin. Laughter ripped from my lungs as he relentlessly tickled my sides. I squirmed and squirmed to no avail as Axel used his height to his advantage and effectively trapped me in his ticklish embrace.

"Hey, Axel. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up in a group of girls and they…"

All at once, Axel's fingers stopped their attack and we stood silent, locked in a hug that would certainly look romantic to the bystander in the doorway. His eyes were wide as he looked at us, his face frozen in a look of pure shock and confusion like a dear in headlights. A bass guitar case dangled numbly at his side in one hand and his other was caught running through his hair, stuck there from the surprise of seeing us.

Axel didn't seem fazed by his presence or our posture, but I was nearly mortified. I broke free from the redhead and fixed the wrinkles Axel caused in my uniform. I tried giving him my best smile as I greeted him. "H-hey, Roxas. How's it going?"

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	12. Simple and Clean

**I'm so impressed with the amount of feedback you guys are giving me. It really encourages me to keep writing. Knowing so many people are waiting for updates gives me incentive to keep the story going. So pats on the back to all of you.**

**BTW, I've got the day off tomorrow, so depending on how many people review, you might get another update within the next few days (maybe even tomorrow).  
Also, sorry if my musical terminology is off. I haven't taken music classes in 5 years.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

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Roxas watched me, clearly confused and uncomfortable. "Uh, did I interrupt something?"

"Nope!" I chirped quickly. "No, we were just playing some music."

"Uh huh," Roxas said, looking pointedly at the tiara perched on my head. I jolted and swiped it off.

"We took a break after my breathtaking performance," Axel said, grinning playfully. He either was trying to ease the tension in the room or was totally oblivious to it. "Her Highness wanted to be entertained while we waited for you and I was sure to please." I wriggled away as he casually tickled my side again. He really wasn't helping the situation. "What happened to you, anyway, Roxas? Why are you so late?"

"I got ambushed by a group of girls," he said, moving past us to set his case on the floor by a couch along the wall. "They refused to leave me alone until I gave all twenty of them autographs."

"_Autographs?_" Axel gaped. "Dude, are you serious? We're in school for crying out loud!"

"Tell that to them," Roxas said, folding his arms. "Jeez, you'd think they'd give it a rest already."

"Autographs?" I asked, incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me! I mean, I know you and your brothers are insanely popular for some reason, but having girls swarm you for autographs seems a little extreme, don't you think?"

"I'm popular too, you know," Axel mumbled.

"I guess we're kind of used to it by now," Roxas said. "You've got to get used to the fans and stuff when you're in a band; price of fame and whatnot. We just wish that people would tone it down when we're in school."

My eyes owled. "I'm sorry... did you just say _a band?_"

"Yeah," Roxas said, like it was obvious. "Sora, Ventus, Vanitas, Axel, and I are all in a band."

"No one told me this!" I exclaimed.

Roxas looked nonchalant. "It's pretty common knowledge."

"We're nothing big or anything," Axel said, running a hand through his hair. "Just a local group that plays for some of the businesses around here."

"But that's so cool!" I cried, getting riled up from the new tidbit of knowledge. "You guys are professional! Do you play often? What kind of music do you do? What are you called?"

Axel put his hand on my head as if he thought I would fly away from excitement. "Calm down," he said, giving my hair a tousle as he laughed. "We're just a small rock band that plays every month or so if we're lucky. We're called _Oathkeeper."_

"_Oathkeeper_?" I asked, trying out the name on my tongue. It sounded nice. "What's it mean?"

Axel shrugged. "I've got no idea, if I'm honest. Do you know, Roxas?"

"No," he said after a second's hesitation. "Sora and Van came up with the name. You'll have to ask them."

"Oh," I muttered, disappointed. "Well then, can you play something for me?"

"What?" Roxas asked, taken aback.

"You've got your bass, right? Play me one of your songs!"

Roxas floundered, his face growing red as he grew flustered. "Why would you want me to play you one of our songs?"

"Because I've never heard your music before!" I persuaded. "Axel can accompany you!"

"Violins don't really compliment bass very well in your compositions," Roxas explained, still incredibly flummoxed.

I refused to admit defeat. "Well then you play me something. _Come on_, Roxas! Prove that _Oathkeeper_ is worth gushing over!"

Axel sent the blonde an entertained smirk. "Give it up, bro. She's never going to stop."

Roxas shook his head and sighed in surrender. "Okay, fine." Clicking his case open, he grabbed the neck of his bass with one hand and the strap with his other. "But don't expect anything fantastic." He strummed a few notes, making sure his instrument was tuned properly. "What should I play?"

I didn't have a lot to go on so I just shrugged. "Any song you like. I just want to hear something your band wrote."

"Whatever," he said nonchalantly, fishing a pick out of his pocket. "Don't blame me if you don't like it."

Axel folded his arms. "Will you just shut up and play?"

Roxas sent him a look to which the redhead brushed off with a chuckle. Axel led me to take a seat on the tabletop while Roxas focused on his bass strings. My feet dangled at the height and I unconsciously swung them back and forth as I waited in excitement for Roxas' piece. Axel's music had moved me, but since I was trying to learn the guitar, I felt a connection to the bass, and I was eager to see how Roxas played and how his song would impact me.

As soon as Roxas started to strum notes, I was hit. Not physically, but rather full-blown, heavy-impact, emotionally. His technique was skilled, much like Axel's level, and he certainly was talented enough to play in a band, but it wasn't Roxas' playing that was moving me. The notes themselves were making my throat raw and my eyes water. I wanted to cry, but I didn't understand why. I knew this song… I just didn't know how. What was it called? "H" something, wasn't it?...

Roxas' eyes wandered as he played to meet mine. Instantly his eyebrows shot up and his music stopped. I didn't realize why until I felt a cool tear snake down my cheek. Surprised, I quickly wiped the water away. It was then that Axel took notice.

"H-hey! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said bullishly, trying to disperse the sudden, thick atmosphere. I could feel the boys' stares as they watched me with curious concern, wondering why I had suddenly cried. My feelings were identical. Had I been cloned, I would have had the exact same expression on my face. I furiously scrubbed at my eyes. "Geez, I don't know what's wrong with me."

Axel scooted closer unconsciously as if his proximity would protect me. It worked to some degree. His presence seemed to dampen my strange tears. "What happened?"

I laughed in an attempt to show my body I was happy and that there was no need to secrete tears, but it ended up making me look semi-insane. "I don't know. I was just listening to the song and… it just started."

"Jesus, Rox," Axel said, the trace of a smirk teasing his lips as he teased his friend, "You moved her to tears."

"Shut up. That's not what happened." Roxas slid his bass to his back and came to stand in front of me. He bent a little at the knees so he could inspect me at eyelevel. "You sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It was just the song… it…" I didn't know what it did. It stirred up emotions in me I didn't understand. "What's it called?"

"'Simple and Clean'," Roxas said. "It was the first song my brothers and I wrote."

"Oh," I said, trying not to be disappointed. I'd never heard of "Simple and Clean". I had really thought I'd heard that song before. "It's very pretty."

"Thanks…" Roxas continued to look at me like I had a terminal illness. "You positive you're alright, Kairi?"

"Relax, Roxas," Axel said before I could respond. "She just let out some emotion is all. It's probably just that time of the month."

Had someone splattered red paint on Roxas' face, it still wouldn't have been as red as the blush that enflamed his neck to his forehead and ears. Stock-still, his eyes were wider than my fist and his mouth was indignantly gaping like a fish's. The sight was too much. I burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Axel's chuckle soon joined my high-pitched cackles. Roxas grew redder –if that was even possible.

As our laughter simmered, Axel absent-mindedly checked his phone. "Oh hey," he snickered. "Speaking of periods, this one is almost over. We've got twenty minutes left."

The red drained from Roxas as he looked at Axel with shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yup. This is what happens when you show up late; we don't get any real work done until the last fourth of the hour."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Setting aside the fact that twenty minutes is _not_ one fourth of an hour, it's not my fault that I was late or that you guys didn't get any work done."

"We got work done. I got through at least half of 'Ave Maria' earlier."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

I hopped off the table and made my way over to my guitar case. "Well I still need lots of practice before I'm confident to play for Mrs. Rose. I don't know about you guys, but twenty minutes is twenty minutes and there's no time to start rehearsing like the present!"

Axel stretched out. "You go ahead. I've played enough for today. I need to study the sheet music before I try to play the rest of the song."

I peered at Roxas. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I already know it."

"Really?" I asked, incredulously.

"Yeah. It's not that hard." He twirled his bass back around and started to twang a few strings, playing a section of "Ave Maria" to demonstrate.

"Show off," Axel mumbled.

I smiled at the comment and took my guitar out of its case. Grabbing the sheet music and a pick, I sauntered to the couch and plopped down, mindful of the fragile wood of the guitar. The last thing I needed was to accidentally bust the school's instrument. I settled against the cushions and started to tune the strings.

Roxas watched me with interest. "You don't use a tuner?"

"I don't need one. I know the keys."

"You've got perfect pitch?"

"I suppose."

He looked rather impressed. "How good are you at the guitar?"

"Not very. I know the basic chords, but my movements are slow. I'm still learning."

"Can you play anything yet?"

I looked up at him, grinning. "'Mary Had a Little Lamb'?"

Roxas laughed. It was a light, hearty laugh that took me by surprise. Roxas barely smiled around me, let alone laughed. I smiled to myself. Maybe he was slowly warming up to me. It'd be nice if he didn't treat me like a stranger at the house. "Is that all?" he sniggered. "That's so pathetic."

"Oh, whatever," I replied, grinning. "I've only been learning for a few weeks."

"Yeah? That's not too bad then. But you've got a long way to go."

"Tell me about it," I muttered, strumming the strings with my fingers when I was done tuning to make sure I hadn't screwed up.

Roxas slipped his bass strap over his head as I looked over the sheet music. He knelt down to pack up, but continued talking to me. "So what'd you do for music class before taking up guitar?"

"Just some singing," I said absentmindedly, playing a few notes. "I wasn't that good though."

"She's lying," Axel said loudly from the table where he was sprawled, arms crossed behind his head. "I heard her earlier. She's got a nice voice."

"You heard me sing one note," I reminded.

"That's all I needed to hear," the redhead said, sitting up. "When you're in the music business, Kairi, you learn to be a good judge of vocal and instrumental talent. And darling, you're loaded with it."

"And _you're_ full of it. I sing for the fun of it, not to be praised."

"That's what everyone with an awesome voice says." He revised after I sent him a look. "Okay, everyone with an awesome voice that isn't a total diva. Listen, the point is, you've got pipes, and you should use them for the greater good."

"You make me sound like an old man that has the 'one pipe to rule them all'."

"Whatever. You know I'm right."

"I know you should be getting your stuff together. Class ends in five."

Axel jolted to his feet. "Oh shit!"

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	13. Paired Off

**Finally got to rewrite my chapter after my computer crashed and deleted most of it...**

**Thanks for your patience.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

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Roxas insisted that we leave Axel behind and bring our instruments back to Mrs. Rose's class on our own, but I convinced him to wait out of courtesy.

He and Axel had that strange, male friendship where you couldn't tell whether they were enemies or not. Xion and I were similar in the ways that we tease each other on occasion, but the boys were much harsher on one another. Sometimes I really didn't know whether they wanted to kick back or kill each other.

Mrs. Rose met us at the door of her class room when we finally left the costume room with our instruments. She looked relieved to see us. "There you three are. Everyone else had come back to get out for early dismissal. I was worried you had gotten lost."

"Oh, come on, Mrs. Rose," Axel laughed lightheartedly. "We've been here for three years. I think we know our way around the school."

"You never know. Perhaps you'd found some secret passages or rooms," she smiled. We exchanged glances. "You're cutting it close either way."

"We're sorry," Roxas apologized. He sent Axel a pointed look. "_Someone_ packed up late."

"Well you're here now, that's what matters," Mrs. Rose said. She waltzed to her desk and grabbed her bag from her chair. We followed her into the room as she gathered papers. "I'm done for the day. I've got to go pick up my kids from the daycare. Can you three lock up?"

"Of course," I said, spying a coffee mug forgotten on top of the filing cabinets. I handed it to her.

"Oh, thank you, Kairi." She took the mug from me and bundled up the rest of her things in her arms. "And thank you for looking after the class for me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," we chorused as Mrs. Rose waved goodbye to us and left the room.

As soon as he thought she was out of earshot, Axel hollered, "Alright! We have the room to ourselves for the next three minutes! Should we throw a party?"

Roxas eyed his best friend. "You're an idiot."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't serious. It'd be impossible to have a party here in three minutes," Axel snickered. "There's no beer!"

"I take back what I said. You're not an idiot. You're a moron."

I laughed at their antics. "Come on, you two. Let's put our instruments away and lock up. It'd be nice if I could actually make it to a class on time today."

"Why'd you want to do that? "Axel asked, making his way toward the closet regardless. "You have to sit in a hard desk for an hour. Five extra minutes roaming the halls isn't going to kill anyone."

"No," I said, hauling my guitar onto the shelf with the others, "but it'd hurt my record. I'd like to maintain my flawless attendance."

Axel shrugged as he put away his violin. "Well, when you decide you want to let your hair down, let me know. I'll show you a good time." He winked.

I smirked. "Oh, I'm sure you can go absolutely _wild_ in five minutes."

He slung an arm around my shoulder. "Darling, I can go wild in _one _min—ow!"

Axel rubbed his head where the top of Roxas' bass case had whacked him upside the head. The blonde looked indifferently over his shoulder. "Oh. Oops."

"Grow up, Rox," Axel muttered.

The hard plastic of the case came back around as Roxas turned, smacking the redhead again for good measure. "What was that?" Roxas asked innocently.

"You little…"

Axel swiped at Roxas, catching him and knocking the two of them to the ground. I cringed as the wood and strings of the bass protested as the case thunked on the concrete along with the guys. As I saw Axel's hand clench into a fist, my stomach turned and I was seconds away from pulling them apart when he aimed not for Roxas' face, but for his mane of spikes. I giggled to myself as Roxas cried out indignantly, struggling against the fierce noogie.

"Axel!" he grunted, flailing around like a netted ferret. "Cut it out, man! This isn't cool!"

Axel ignored his pleas. "You think it's funny to hit someone over the head with a heavy-duty, plastic instrument case, huh? You could have given me a concussion, you little brat!"

As Axel ground his knuckles harder into Roxas' skull, I contemplated breaking them up. But despite Roxas' cries and threats, there was a smile on his face. Had the two boys been strangers, anyone would have thought Roxas to be a masochist, but that's the thing with close friendships; they make creepy things normal and normal things creepy. You trust someone enough to not hurt you emotionally or physically... though the physical aspect can occasionally get blurred.

"Ouch! Seriously, Axel! Quit it!"

Especially with boys.

"Or what?" Axel mocked. "You'll punch me?"

"Or I'll ignore you for a week," Roxas countered, deadpanned. "Try getting through class without me explaining everything to you."

"Class!" I exclaimed. The guys froze and looked at me like I had announced the world was ending in five minutes. I checked the time on my phone. "There's thirty seconds before the bells rings!"

"Damn!" Axel yelled, jumping to his feet. "We've got class on the other side of the school!"

"So do I!" I said, helping Roxas up. "So much for being early."

"What do you have?"

"Outdoor Pursuits."

Axel's eyebrows shot up. "Are you kidding? You've got to change clothes for OP!"

"You think I don't know that?" The bell rang overhead to signal the start of break. I officially had five minutes to get to the locker rooms, change, and head for the gym. "Damn it!"

Roxas locked eyes with me. "What are you waiting for? You're going to have to sprint to make it to class before the second bell rings. Get going."

"I can't just leave. We're supposed to lock up!"

"Axel and I can handle it," he said, picking up his discarded bass and smiling reassuringly. "You've got a record to keep."

My eyes inadvertently darted from the clock to the door and back to Roxas. "You sure you don't mind?"

"Nah."

"Get outta here, already," Axel grinned. "We'll look after everything."

I didn't waste any more time arguing. "Thanks a bunch, guys," I said, giving them each a smile before turning on my heel and bolting out the door.

I could hear Axel yelling at my back, "Run, Forest! Run!"

And indeed I ran faster than any trees had ever run in their life. I threw grace out of the window and focused on dashing to the girl's locker room. I skidded at the end of hallways and scurried down new ones. I flew down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I received some strange glances from wandering students, but ignored them. My attendance was at stake, this wasn't the time for dignity.

I blasted through the girl's locker room door with less than two minutes left in the break. I didn't expect anyone to still be changing, but there Xion was, pulling her shorts up. Had they not been over her hips, they would have fallen to the floor when she saw me. "Kairi! Where have you been?"

"Class," I said, dropping my bag off my shoulder and loosening my school tie. "I was held up. Mrs. Rose needed someone to lock the room for her."

"And you, being the saint you are, just gladly accepted," she said, smiling knowingly, "and now you're running late. Smooth move genius."

"Pardon me for being considerate," I retorted, quickly changing clothes. "It's not like I'm actually late anyway."

"Not yet. You've got another, oh, _fifty _seconds."

I yelped and finished tugging my shirt over my head. As soon as it was past my bust, I bustled to the door. Xion kept pace with me. I sent her a look as we jogged to the gymnasium. "So what's your excuse?"

"What?" she asked. "I'm not allowed to wait for my best friend?"

"You're allowed," I smirked. "But waiting in the locker room to watch her change clothes is questionable."

"Well excuse me for trying to be nice. I just thought if you'd need someone to prod you along. Twenty seconds!"

"I know, already! Shut up and run!"

As we pushed ourselves harder, I had to question the school's layout. Who in their right mind puts the girls' locker room farther away from the gym than the guys'? I mean, if you're going to put the gym in the back corner, can't you at least give the vainer species the closer of the two change rooms?

Xion and I blew open the doors, tumbling into the gym with four seconds to spare. I huffed and wiped sweat off my forehead in irritation. I hoped today wasn't an indication of tardiness for the rest of the week.

Almost all the students in the class were there already, broken off and huddled in their little cliques. This happened every period, where the only socialization between groups is when the curriculum called for it or when the teacher would pick teams by random.

Riku spotted Xion and I from over with Tidus and Wakka. He smirked before excusing himself and sauntering towards us. "Another close call, Kairi. You better get your act together."

"Apparently she was doing Mrs. Rose a favor," Xion explained, somehow not out of a single breath.

His lip remained curled. "She should do herself a favor and get to class on time."

"I _am_ on time, thank you very much," I scowled.

"Alright kiddies! Let's get started!"

We turned our heads to the door where our Outdoor Pursuits teacher, Mr. Philoctetes, or Mr. Phil, stood with his clipboard. He was a small man who made up for his embarrassingly small stature with a booming voice and strict demeanor. He was the coach of almost all the sports teams and did very little other than whip students into shape. A shape he lacked.

"Is it just me, or did he gain weight over the break?" Riku whispered. I tried not to giggle; an attempt that ultimately failed when a stray basketball went soaring through the air to hit Riku square in the stomach.

"I heard that, Leonhart!"

"Sorry, sir," Riku grunted sourly, rubbing his tummy.

Mr. Phil turned back to his clipboard. "Now, as I was saying, the hiking unit is officially over. Today, we're starting canoeing. You'll be paired off in groups of two –don't get too excited. _I_ made the teams this time– and you will be given ten minutes to get your gear before we head down to the lake. Any questions? No? Good."

"Canoeing, huh?" Xion said, half listening to the names Mr. Phil listed off through his megaphone. "Should be interesting. I wonder who we'll be partnered with."

"For my sake, I hope I'm not with either of you," Riku said, still rubbing his stomach absent-mindedly. "I'd rather not row in circles for the whole period."

I narrowed my eyes playfully at him. "Just for that, if we are put together, I'm going to purposefully paddle against you."

"My, oh my, Kairi. And here I thought you were an angel," a voice said from behind me. I whirled around to see none other than Axel, Roxas at his side. "Who knew you could be so mean. Or was that just meant to be suggestive?"

"Neither," Riku said, coming to stand with me. Even though he was taller than average, he had to look up at Axel, a fact that clearly pissed him off. "We were kidding around. Who are you?"

Mr. Phil's voice continued to drone on in the background, warped and mangled by the megaphone he used. "_Tidus will be partnered with Yuna_."

"Axel. Axel O'Brian. I'm a friend of Kairi's. Got it memorized?"

"Uh... sure," he said skeptically, sending me a sidelong glance which I chose to ignore.

"You guys never told me we had this period together," I said affably.

Axel shrugged. "We thought we'd surprise you."

"How nice," Riku bristled, lost and annoyed at being left out of the loop. "Where'd you guys meet?"

"_Seifer and Selphie_."

"Music class. I'm also friends with Roxas."

"Huh?" Riku's eyes finally moved from Axel's towering form to Roxas' average one. "Oh yeah. One of the Strife brothers, right? We met during the break in the infirmary after Kairi passed out."

"Yeah," Roxas said quietly. He was just as reserved as the time I met him, if not more so. "Hi."

"_Xion and Ventus_."

The name caught. I whipped around again. "Ventus?"

Xion's mouth was wide open. "_Ventus?"_

I looked at Roxas. "I didn't know Ventus was in this class."

Xion was freaking out. "I'm teamed up with a Strife. This _never _happens." She grabbed my shoulders. "Kairi, what do I do?"

"_Roxas and Axel_."

"Goody," Roxas mumbled.

Axel pulled him in for an affectionate noogie. "Aw, come on, buddy. This is awesome. What are the odds?"

"For Roxas, I'd say they're pretty crappy," Ventus said, smiling beside his brother and seemingly appearing out of thin air.

Axel reached over and ruffled his hair too. "Hey, man! Good to see you!"

"Cut it out!" Ven cried, laughing as he ducked away. He looked a lot like Roxas did when Axel teased him. It was the only time I really acknowledged that they were twins.

"_Neku and Rikku_."

A girl shouted from the other side of the room. "Which one?"

"Two 'k's," Mr. Phil replied, to which the girl squealed in delight.

Ventus escaped Axel's grasp and scurried to stand between Xion and me. He gave me a lopsided grin. "Howdy."

"Hey Ven," I said, smiling in return. "I didn't know you were in this class."

"That's okay," he brushed off. "I usually keep to myself anyway. I just came over to meet my canoeing partner. You must be Xion."

"Uh huh," Xion nodded, still pretty shook up from the shock of being paired with 'one of the four gods of the school'. Normally she'd think of something clever or sassy to say, but instead she paled and her brain switched from playful to polite. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here!" he smiled. "Hope you can handle an oar!"

"_Riku and Vanitas_."

Two voices yelled out in disgust. "What?!"

The first was obviously Riku's, as he almost burst my right eardrum by screaming next to me. The second was also evident, as Vanitas had shouted loud enough to make everyone around him either take a step back, or jump away in surprise, making him be the lone center man of a circle as if he had the plague. His icy glare found its way toward our little gathering and he locked gazes with Riku, who was clearly just as unhappy about the arrangement.

"Van's here too?" I wondered aloud to myself.

"Yeah," Ventus answered, slightly startling me from his proximity. He had just been next to Xion and now he was beside me. I was starting to think he was a ninja... or Nightcrawler. "This is the one class that we all wanted to take. While each of us have our own preferences for subjects, there's something about Outdoor Pursuits that makes things feel like an adventure; like we're going on some important journey. I guess it's a guy thing. Mom thinks it's cute."

"When you say 'us' and 'we', you mean you and your brothers?" I asked, my stomach suddenly doing flip flops.

"Yeah. Me and Roxas and Vanitas and—"

"_Sora and Kairi_."

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	14. Moths vs Butterflies

**I know, I know. I haven't updated in a while. I'm not going to make excuses; I was procrastinating. TV is a curse...**

**I was going to make this chapter a little longer, but I figured you deserved an update sooner than later and it was a good time to break. Hopefully I'll get more writing done in the mornings before I work. Remember to keep on my ass, and badger me to keep writing. Reviews keep me motivated!**

**Just one more thing before moving on to the chapter. I've been seeing a lot of guests posting suggestions, and even demands, in their reviews. I'd just like to say that this is MY story, not yours, and we are passed the point of suggestions. I have the plot fully thought out, and I know when characters will appear. So do not tell me to put Namine in the next chapter, do not tell me to make Xion have long hair, and DO NOT tell me what to write. Criticism and suggestions to improve my writing are still welcome, but it is your job as the reader to sit tight and read what I post. Imagine this is a book that gets posted a chapter at a time. Everything is already imagined. I'm not telling you to stop rooting for your favorite pair; that's your opinion and position. But I'm just telling you that no matter what you say and who you support, I know who will end up with who. That's all.**

**And now, after the important rant, onto the chapter.**

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You know that nauseating feeling you sometimes get in your stomach when you're anxious? Like a string has been attached to the center of your stomach and someone is tugging on it, moving it in all directions to the point where you feel sick. I had that feeling now. My friend Naminé called it moths, because you've got a fluttering in your stomach like butterflies, but it's not exactly welcome. Butterflies brought a happiness and excitement. Moths brought apprehension and queasiness.

I didn't understand why my stomach had been harboring moths rather than butterflies, but as soon as I heard that Sora was my canoeing partner, the chrysalis inside me burst open and flapping wings and fuzzy antennae tickled my sphincter. Sora was a great guy. I should have been thrilled I was teamed up with him. But something wasn't sitting right with me. I was nervous beyond belief and my head was swimming.

I nearly screamed when Sora tapped my shoulder.

I jumped and whirled to face him with an expression of terror. He was taken aback and immediately looked remorseful. "Sorry," he said, his hair seeming to droop with his mood like a puppy's ears, "I didn't mean to scare you."

The moths fluttered antagonistically, but I managed to pull a smile. "It's alright. You just startled me. Ready to canoe like never before, partner?"

My words perked him up. "You bet," he grinned. "We're going to leave everyone behind in our waves!"

"It's not a race, Sora," Ventus reminded. "We're just canoeing around the lake."

"We're still gonna beat ya!"

"Bring it on," Axel whooped. "Your brother and I will drown you!"

Sora smirked. "I heard you and Roxas were paired up." He looked at the elder twin. "I'll pray for you."

"If anyone needs praying for, it's Riku and Vanitas," Roxas said. "They're going to need divine intervention to keep from killing each other."

"So long as he follows my orders, we'll be fine," Riku grumbled.

Vanitas begrudgingly joined our group, his arms crossed as he glanced at Sora grumpily. "Don't suppose you'd switch partners?"

"Not a chance!" Sora laughed.

Riku scowled, peering at Van from the corner of his eye. "I'm going to have to talk with Mr. Phil after about the 'randomness' of these pairings..."

"Don't be a spoil sport, Riku," Axel chided, grinning. "You're just jealous."

"And _you_ just don't want me to talk the teacher into changing the partners," Riku retorted, looking pointedly at Roxas.

"That's not true," Axel said, putting his hand on his hip. "If the teams get changed up, I've got a chance of getting put with Kairi."

"Gee, thanks," Roxas muttered.

"Why do you want to be paired with Kairi?" Vanitas asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You kidding?" Axel pulled me into a suffocating hug. He almost engulfed me in his height. "She's adorable. Who wouldn't want to be partners with someone so cute?"

Before I could explain to Axel that he was crushing my lungs, something grabbed my wrist and yanked me from his grasp. When I blinked, I found myself at Sora's side. He stepped in front of me, his hand still clasped around mine. He looked up at Axel with a stone face and a glint in his eyes that I couldn't identify. His voice was eerily calm, like he forced himself to keep it even. "No one."

The group was left in silence, Axel in a stupor, as Sora led me away to get our gear.

Mr. Phil pointed us toward the lifejackets as he thrust oars into our arms and we went obediently. I couldn't bring myself to ask Sora about what just happened. I'd never seen him so serious... or so dangerous. I wondered if he had something against Axel, but they had been talking normally earlier. I tried to forget about it. Whatever it was, it was Sora's business. I had no right sticking my nose where it didn't belong.

Sora still seemed out of sorts until the class was ready to head down to the lake. He had taken the oars earlier so that I only had to carry the lifejackets. We fell to the back of the group as we walked out the school's backdoor and along the path through the woods. From ahead I could see Ventus and Xion getting along well and Axel's mane of hair further up. Riku and Vanitas were attracting a fair amount of attention as they argued rather animatedly. Sora laughed at them.

"You can just _feel_ the love coming off those two," he chuckled.

My shoulders relaxed as Sora returned to normal, the lingering tension blowing away with the afternoon breeze. I let a smile settle on my lips as I regarded the boys remorsefully. "You'd think they'd let bygones be bygones and make up already. Weren't they friends?"

"Yeah," Sora said regretfully. "But they both have a lot of pride and anger. It'll be hard to rebuild such an obliterated bridge."

"I suppose," I sighed. "It's a shame though. They're so alike."

Sora nodded. "They're both good at sports, they both have unnatural eye colours, they're the same age..."

"They both are popular. And they can both hold grudges. That's a big one! Riku has never forgiven Joshua for hitting on me that one time, and from what I can tell of Van, he isn't the type to let things go easily either."

"You don't know the half of it. I think he still intends to get back at Wakka for hitting him on the head with a blitzball five years ago."

"That's partially Wakka's fault though," I pointed out. "He's always goofing off with that ball of his. He's even hit me a few times."

"But of course you're gracious enough to let it slide?"

"Naturally."

"If only Riku and Van could follow in your footsteps. It'd be nice if they could be friends again."

"I know. I mean, the past is in the past. It's a shame that they can't just kiss and make up..." Suddenly I got an idea, and my face lit up with a dark conniving glint. I smirked at Sora. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we'd be mentally scarred if Riku and Van kissed?"

"No... well, yes, actually. But I was thinking that we should get Vanitas and Riku back together."

"I had no idea they were going out."

I gave him a little shove. "Be serious, Sora! Think about it; if we somehow got Riku and Vanitas to forgive and forget, they'd be friends again, and there wouldn't be any more drama between them."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ventus asked. He and Xion had dropped back a little so they were walking in front of us. Xion and Ven greeted us with smiles and curious glances over their shoulders, their arms laden with oars and lifejackets. Like Sora, Ventus had been as courteous and had given Xion the lighter load to carry. I guessed Cloud had taught them chivalry growing up.

"Kairi wants to get the Demon Duo to reconcile."

"What?" Xion asked sarcastically, gesturing to the bickering boys ahead. "You don't enjoy this?"

I shrugged. "As much as I love seeing my best friend-"

"_Ahem!_" Xion coughed indiscreetly.

"_One_ of my best friends," I corrected, "fighting with one of my mom's friend's sons-"

"Is that all we are?" Sora asked Ventus jokingly. The twin offered nothing but a smile in return.

I ignored them. "—I'd rather see the two of them getting along. I mean, can you imagine how close they'd be as friends?"

"We don't have to imagine, Kairi," Ventus said. "They were friends before."

"Yeah, yeah, and then Vanitas sabotaged Riku's football tryout, I know." I said. "Sora told me."

Ventus looked at his brother intriguingly. "...Did he?"

I didn't pay much attention to the exchange. "Yes. Their friendship was broken along with their trust and they've essentially been enemies ever since, right? Well I think it's awful that such close friends drifted apart."

"It wasn't so much as a drift as it was a volley of stabs leading to an eventual collapse," Sora said pointedly.

I waved him off. "Whatever. Regardless, they're better friends than foes, right? We should find some way to repair their relationship."

"I didn't know they had been together," Xion snickered.

Sora beamed. "I know, right?" Shifting the oars, he raised his hand for a high-five to which Xion slapped enthusiastically.

Had his arms not been full, Ventus would have crossed them as he contemplated. "It's not a bad idea, but don't you think it's better not to meddle? I mean, Riku and Van aren't going to like it too much if they find out what you're up to. The last thing those two want is for their friends and family to play matchmaker."

"We'll make sure they don't find out," I said confidently. "It'll be easy. We just need to be subtle. They won't be the wiser!"

"If you say so," Ventus sighed. "Just be careful. You don't want to face the wrath of the two of them combined."

"Well, either way," Sora said, "all our scheming will have to wait. We're here!"

Sure enough, we had arrived at the lake. While everyone thought it was kind of weird to canoe and swim at a lake when we lived on an island surrounded by clean, fresh salt water, I happened to love it. Mom used to take me down to the waterside when I was little. Riku and the Leonharts would come along sometimes for picnics and play dates, and I even have a couple vague memories of Dad teaching me how to swim in the freshwater. Don't get me wrong. I'm an islander, we all love the sea. But the lake held such fond memories for me; it had a special place in my heart.

I took a deep breath in as I let the scenery soak in. Ringed by breadfruit and kapok trees, palms and one majestic weeping willow, the water spread for half a mile or so. It came from a stream that led out from an underground spring. The lake let out to the ocean so the water wasn't stagnant and algae couldn't grow. The depth varied, the shallowest of it being two feet along the far bank, and the deepest being well over my head anywhere past five feet in. Riku once told me his dad said it was fifty feet and when I didn't believe him, we got into a fight. Mom ended breaking us up, and told us no one knew how deep the lake really got. It could be fifty, it could be fifteen. Either way, we weren't allowed to swim there alone until we were older. To this day, I've never been able to touch the bottom past ten feet of the bank. Neither has Riku. It kinda made me wonder why the schoolboard was letting us canoe here. I supposed all of us could swim, so there wasn't that much danger. I wasn't complaining regardless.

My eyes were lost in the sun flecks that rippled and reflected off the water and a smile stretched across my lips. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," Sora said. He looked wistful as he stared at the landscape.

"Did you use to come here too?" I asked.

"Huh?" He turned suddenly and gawked at me in a confused daze. Our eyes connected and he seemingly remembered where he was, his expression softening. "Uh, yeah. Me and the guys came here a lot growing up. It's been a while since we last came. Were you a frequent visitor as well?"

I nodded. "Yup! This was my favorite place to come. I'd beg my mom to take me so I could swim."

"You couldn't go alone?"

"No. Mom always said it was too dangerous to go by myself. She'd bring a blanket and read in the shade. When she was too busy, I'd get Riku to come with me. Though..."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "'Though...'?"

I leaned in and lowered my voice like a kid sharing a secret. "One time, when Mom was at an audition and Riku was on vacation with his parents, I snuck out and went by myself. It was daytime, and there were a few people around so it wasn't _that_ dodgy. It was the best time of my life. I could swim to my heart's desire with no time limit or mother to tell me not to drop into the water from the trees. I got home with plenty of time before Mom got home and I wasn't hurt or kidnapped, so she never knew."

Sora's face became suddenly stoic. "You're lucky nothing happened."

I frowned a little. "I guess. But everything worked out so it's fine."

He smiled weakly. "I suppose you're right."

"Gather around, students!" Mr. Phil's voice blared through the garbled megaphone by the lakefront. "Come on, we don't have all day!"

Sora slung the oars over his shoulder like they were a bat. He smiled cheekily at me, back to the normal, carefree brunette with unruly hair. "We better go. The sooner we listen to Sir Philoctetes, the sooner we can get our canoe on!"

I grinned, choosing not to dwell on Sora's strange behavior. "After you."

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	15. Weeping Willow

**As always, thanks for the constant support and feedback.**

**This chapter is a little shorter, but it's deliciously dramatic! Try not to kill me for ending it here. I'll work hard to update soon. **

**I forgot to mention last time that I had started a****_ The World Ends with You_**** fanfiction for all of those Kingdom Hearts fans that played Dream Drop Distance. It's slow going, considering I focus on this one, but I really enjoyed playing TWEWY, and I wanted to write something for it since the FF archive is so small.**

**Be sure to check it out after reading this.**

**Also, I know that Pocahontas wasn't in the KH games, but it totally should've! **

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The students closest to Mr. Phil had to plug their ears as his megaphone blasted his voice around the picnic table the stout man stood on. "Here's the lowdown for the day, kids. Today is an introduction to canoeing, ergo you're just going to be paddling around. I don't want to see any racing or horsing around; you're just to get the gist of the basics, got it? Good!" The microphone squealed, making us cringe. Mr. Phil waited for it to die down before pointing to the shed thirty feet away. "You and your partner will _carefully_ get a canoe from the storage and bring it to the waterfront. There's forty minutes left until the period's over, so that leaves you half an hour to get used to the feel of a canoe and the feel of your partner –stop snickering, you hormonal brats! You want detention!?"

The students dispersed after that, taking it upon themselves to get out of Mr. Phil's line-of-sight and into the water. I followed Sora to the canoe shed after leaving the lifejackets with the oars in the grass and we managed to get the last one that was stored on the lower of the two racks (which was lucky for me since I couldn't even reach the higher ones). We each took an end and lifted the canoe from the wood posts it rested on, cautiously stepping over beams so we didn't trip and end up with our faces and a rented canoe in the dirt. Once we were out of the way of the incoming students, we turned the canoe right-side-up and carried it to the shallow water.

Sora gestured for me to climb in. "You go in first. I'm pretty confident in my steering abilities."

"And what if I'm also confident in my steering abilities?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow teasingly.

"Too bad," he smirked. "I already have dibs."

I grinned. "Well then I call advance dibs for next time!"

"Let's just see how today goes," Sora chuckled. "Careful getting in. It's rickety."

"Yes, Mom."

"Don't be snarky. I was trying to be a gentleman."

"The key word would be 'trying'. A real gentleman would help a lady into the boat, you know."

Sora looked at the canoe in the water to his pants and converse sneakers. "But I'd get wet."

Snatching an oar and lifejacket from where we left them, I rolled my eyes and stepped into the canoe. I stretched out my arms for balance and tiptoed to the front seat like I was on the highwire. The boat rocked as I manoeuvred and finally sat down. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at Sora. "Come on, Johnny Bravo. It's time to set sail!"

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" Sora saluted before clambering into the canoe. He was about to sit when he realized he left his gear on the ground and scrambled back out to grab them. Snatching his oar and lifejacket with each hand, he hustled back and hopped into the boat, jostling both it and myself. I lost my balance and tumbled backwards. My head hit the hard bottom of the canoe, the resulting _thunk_ resounding through the wood. Groaning, I tilted my head back to glare at Sora. He cringed. "Sorry."

I moaned as I got up on my elbows. "I hope this isn't any indication of what the rest of our day is going to be like."

"Nah, we'll be fine. I'll be careful, I swear. Easy does it," he said as I pulled myself upright. I could feel him watching as I rubbed the sore spot on my head. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've hit my head lots of times over the years. This is nothing."

He chuckled. "I imagine."

When I was fully upright and functional again, I gripped my oar and dipped it in the water. "Come on. We're blocking the way for the others."

"Right," he said, his voice coming accompanied with the trickling of water as he paddled.

I expected us to go straight along the lake, but our canoe was veering to the left. "Sure you remember how to steer, Sora? The J-stroke is aptly named, you know."

"I remember!" he called back, slightly disgruntled. "I'm just a _little_ rusty. Give me a second!"

I watched him try to push the water away from the port in the most awkward J-stroke I'd seen in years. He looked pitiful, but I couldn't resist the urge to tease. "This is what happens when you play video games instead of hitting the gym."

"Feel free to send Call of Duty a letter of complaint if we get stranded then. Now be quiet!" He flicked water at me. "I've almost got it."

The spray hit me in the face and I jolted. It was frigid! I frowned at Sora before swiftly back-paddling the surface of the lake, kicking up water that splattered all over the brunette. He spluttered in surprise, his eyes wide as he tried to take in what had happened. When he finally connected the dots, he shook the water out of his eyes and hair and smirked challengingly at me. "So, you wanna play like that?" He dipped his oar into the lake until the blade was fully submerged and then thrust up. The upshot sent a tidal wave that completely drenched me from head to toe. This meant war.

Mr. Phil's megaphone barely cut through our splashing and laughter as we tried to drown each other. "Gainsborough! Strife! Knock it off! I said no goofing around!"

I tried to sober myself as I responded, but my voice was still laced with mirth and my apology started with a giggle. "Sorry, Mr. Philoctetes. There was a beetle that wouldn't leave us alone."

"A likely story," he _humph_ed. "Now get moving! You're in the way!"

Sora saluted. "Yessir!" He turned and gave me one last splash. "Come on, Kairi! Stop goofing off and paddle!"

"I'll _paddle_ you!" I retorted, flicking back.

"Sounds like a plan, baby!" Vanitas yelled across the lake from his canoe. "My safe-word is –_ow_! Damn it, Riku! Keep your oar in the freaking _water_!"

Mr. Phil's megaphone squealed angrily. "Gainsborough, Strife, two words: MOVE YOUR KEISTERS!"

The pudgy teacher's temper seemed to jumpstart Sora's canoeing abilities. We started rowing like we were racing for our lives and were miraculously doing so in a straight line.

When we gave our arms a rest, we were floating by the opposite bank and drifting toward the willow tree. I watched the branches sway in the wind with rapture, transfixed as always when in the presence of the magnificent tree. Sora caught my enamoured expression and gently brought us closer.

The willow tree was a sort of wonder. The only one on the entire island, it'd been around since before anyone could remember. No one really knew how it got here to begin with. My environmental science teacher, Mrs. Rolfe, told me the tree was rumoured to have been planted by aboriginals as they passed through the island and that it was a tree of great power and spirituality. She called it Grandmother Willow and said that if I was good, she might talk to me. I swore when I was little that I heard her say my name, but mom would always make me sit in the shade after, claiming I was coming down with heat stroke. She was probably right. But I still loved the tree, and chose to believe in its magic. I liked thinking I was special; that Grandmother Willow only spoke to me.

The breeze spread the branches as our canoe glided between them. I looked up and all around, remembering the limbs and leaves and the memories that came with them. It was incredibly nostalgic. A huge smile lit my face.

"It's so beautiful," Sora mused. I glanced at him over my shoulder to see him just as blissful. He smiled peacefully and his cerulean eyes were relaxed like he was recalling treasured memories too. His expression was so handsome. My chest tugged and I averted my gaze.

"Yeah."

He sighed dreamily. "If I could just stay here like this the whole day, I'd be the happiest guy in the world."

The moths were back, a couple fluttering in my stomach. "_Just_ like this?"

"Why not?"

I shifted. "Wouldn't you rather be alone?"

"No."

More wings were teasing my tummy, but I just had to look at Sora. Was he serious? He had to be teasing. But when our eyes met, I saw nothing but sincerity and something deeper. It was a hard emotion to place. I felt like I was sitting in the way of someone else, like he was looking at a precious friend or someone who had been gone for a long time and was suddenly back. It was almost the same as the way I looked at the photo of my dad, but different...

The back of my mind heard the sound of paddling but it didn't register until we were hit. Another canoe collided with ours, rocking our boat to the point where Sora and I lost out balance. I tumbled onto my back again, whacking my head for the second time. I heard Sora fall too, but my eyes were shut from the pain in my skull.

My groan echoed above me and my eyelids flew open.

The sky above was the brightest blue I'd ever seen. There wasn't a cloud in sight, just beautiful azure that blinked in and out... It was then that I remembered we were under the willow tree and realized the sky was Sora's eyes, inches away from mine.

He had fallen forward when we were bumped, but he had managed to catch himself with his arms that were currently pinning me down on either side of my head. I could feel his breath rustling my hair and his chocolate tresses were falling around his face, centimeters from my nose. Our gazes never veered and remained locked until we heard Xion yelling at us.

Sora broke the connection first, blinking himself out of his trance. His cheeks turned pink as he pushed himself up. "Sorry."

I remained on the floor of the canoe, still dazed. "I-it's okay."

"Sorry guys!" I heard Ventus say a few feet away. "You two still in one piece?"

"Yeah," Sora said. "We're alright."

"Kairi!" Xion cried. "Kairi, you okay?"

I slowly dragged myself upright. "Yeah," I grunted unconvincingly. "I'm good."

"You don't sound good," Ven commented. "What happened?"

"I hit my head. But I'm fine," I lied. I didn't feel too fine. My head was pounding. I thought I saw myself sitting under the willow tree, swimming in the water, and running in the grass. It wasn't just me though. Sora, Vanitas, Ventus, Roxas, and even Axel was there too. My head was throbbing.

"This is the second time you hit your head," Sora said, reaching for me. "Are you sure you're alright?"

I watched Sora and I swimming. I was drifting away from him toward the bank and he was shouting at me. Fear suddenly coursed through me and my head hammered. "No," I whimpered. My head felt like it was splitting in two. I saw black spots. "No, I'm not alright. Sora, help me!"

My vision was coming in and out. I saw the willow, and the visions, and then black. I was passing out.

Sora caught me as I fell back. His face came into focus. He was calling me, probably telling me to stay awake, but I couldn't hear. I just saw his face and his gorgeous eyes. I was scared, but his presence helped. I wanted to touch his face, to feel his warm skin in this sea of cold darkness. I felt his fingers grip mine.

Wings fluttered in my stomach again. If I had been conscious, I would have realized that they didn't belong to moths anymore.

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	16. Dreaming in Colour

**Hey guys! Special treat for you today: a longer chapter and more mysteries! The plot thickens.**

**As a side note, for those who don't know, I made a little youtube account last week and uploaded a AMV for Kingdom Hearts. I enjoyed making it, though it's not very impressive, and may make more in the future. The account is under Pennan Inque as always, if you wanted to check it out and subscribe (since I plan to make more in the future)**

**Also, this chapter hasn't been reread, so sorry for any mistakes. I wanted to post it before I went into work. I'll proofread it later when I get back and fix any grammatical mistakes or otherwise.**

**Enjoy.**

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I was back in the vacant lot beside the funeral home, crying five-year-old tears in my dirty Sunday best. I was crying a river just as I had been the first time, wiping my cheeks futilely and wailing like a siren. I could feel the sadness from the past hit me like a wave and suddenly I'm weeping along with my younger self, lamenting my late father.

I heard footsteps in the gravel and turned. My eyes were full of tears, and I couldn't make out much of the person approaching. They were young, probably around my age, with brown, possibly blonde, hair. I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes so I could see, but I was a broken dam, and my tears wouldn't stop no matter what.

I was sure it was a guy when he spoke. "Are you alright?" he asked. He sounded familiar, but I couldn't place his voice.

I sniffed and turned away, sobbing. "No."

The boy came around to stand in front of me so he could see my face. I could make out vague features, like his nose and his mouth, but my tears were still blurring the overall image and the sun wasn't helping me distinguish colours in hair or eyes. He looked down on me curiously. "What's wrong?"

My emotions hit me full-force and I wept with new tears. "My-my... Daddy, he... he's _gone_!"

"Gone?" the boy asked, confused. His eyes wandered to the funeral home and his expression softened. "Oh."

I cried.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, trying to speak more gently in an attempt to soothe me. "I'm sorry about your dad, but you know, at least he left you with good memories."

"Huh?"

"You love your dad, right?" he asked rhetorically. "You wouldn't be crying like this if you didn't. That means he was a great father and he loved you a lot. You get to remember him like that for the rest of your life."

I furrowed my little brow, confused. "But wouldn't he have stayed like that for infinity?"

The boy smiled feebly. Looking back, it was a smile of pity from the experienced to the ignorant. I could see the pain behind his eyes. "Not necessarily. Some people change. There are some parents that are nice to their kids at first, but then get meaner every day. My mom's like that. But you'll never see the bad sides of your dad."

Fresh tears brimmed in my eyes and streamed down my face as I broke out into new sobs. The boy was taken aback and didn't know what to do. He reached out to pat me comfortingly, but was too unnerved by my wails. "H-hey, it's okay! Don't cry! I didn't mean what I said, I'm sure your dad was special! He would never have been mean. Hey, come on, I'm sorry."

I shook my head hastily but couldn't calm down enough to speak. I sniffed and sniveled, taking shaky, loud breaths between weeps. "S-s-so s-s-sad!"

The boy quirked his head like a puppy, puzzled. "Huh?"

"You s-said your mommy is m-mean!" I blubbered. "That's s-so s-s-sad!"

The boy softened and a real grin graced his face. "You're really something." He came to sit beside me. "What's your name?"

I hiccoughed. "K-Kairi."

"Well Kairi, let me tell you something. My mom may not be very nice to me, but my dad is kind. He probably isn't as devoted to me as yours was to you, but he's still a great father. He cooks for the family and plays with us when he can. He loves us for who we are and he sings for us when we're sad."

I rubbed at my eyes. "He does?"

"Yeah. It's a very special song that he wrote just for us. If you stop crying, I'll sing it for you."

My eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yup. But you've got to stop crying first."

"Why?"

"Because it's my dad's special song. It's meant to cheer people up, so there can't be any more tears by the end of it, okay?"

I wiped the salt water off my face and tried to calm down. "Okay."

"Alright." The boy moved around on the dirt like he was trying to find his "zone". "There's no words for it yet. Dad usually hums the notes. He said when we're old enough, me and my brothers can write lyrics to go with the music."

"What's lyrics?" I asked, my voice raw from my previous wailing.

"Look it up later. Do you want to hear the song or not?"

I nodded fervently. "I do."

"Then sit tight and listen. But remember that these," he brushed away a tear escaping down the side of my cheek, "have to be gone by the end." I nodded again and the boy smiled. Then he started to sing.

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The poor lighting in the white room I woke up in made me think I was in the infirmary at school, but as I started to get my bearings, I discovered I was in an unfamiliar room. The lackluster fluorescents were placed in rows, dimly illuminating the small room I found myself in. I was on a bed, smothered with pillows and swaddled with blankets. Had the window not been open to let in a breeze, I would have been dripping with sweat. There was a table to my right with a plastic cup of water and a television remote, but both appeared untouched. There was a cushioned chair to my left where a blonde boy was resting. His head drooped and his eyes were closed, but his breathing wasn't deep enough to make me think he was asleep. The way his arms were folded, I guessed it was the older of the twins. "Roxas?"

His eyes flew open and his arms untangled as he sat up, suddenly wide awake. His gaze immediately found me and he looked relieved. "You're awake," he smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess," I said. "My head kind of hurts. What happened? Where are we?"

"We're at the hospital," he explained. "Sora said you hit your head canoeing and then lost consciousness. Mr. Phil told us to take you straight here rather than go seeing Nurse Mouse. The doctor said you have a mild concussion."

"Did we take an ambulance?"

"No. We took you in Van's car. He and Riku met up with Sora and you guys almost right when Axel and I did. After we heard Sora shouting your name, we knew something was wrong. Riku helped carry you to the car, but Sora didn't let him do much. He was pretty frantic; took almost all the initiative to get you here."

"Sora did?" I wondered. I would have expected Riku to have been the one flittering around, barking orders at the others to get me into Vanitas' car, but it had been Sora... "Where is he?"

"The doctor wanted to talk to him and Ventus since they saw what happened. Xion's with them too, but it took a while for her to agree to leave your side. I'm pretty sure she only went because I was here."

I grinned. I'd have to thank Xion later. And every else for that matter. "So where are the others?"

"Axel went with Vanitas to get Tifa and Dad, and Riku went back to school to get your clothes."

It was then that I noticed I was in a hospital gown. Roxas was still wearing his gym clothes. "Can't I change back into what I was wearing before? Then we could leave."

"I suggested that too, but the doc still wants to talk to you first. Probably to go over some questions, just to make sure you're alright. You _are_ alright, aren't you?"

_Are you alright?_

My dream flashed back into my mind and suddenly I realized Roxas' voice was similar to that of the boy. It wasn't an exact match, due to the whole prepubescent versus post, but there was certainly some resemblance. Even the boy himself (or whatever I could see of him) held a likeness to Roxas. Did that mean I dreamt of Roxas as a five year old? What did that even imply?

I wasn't ultimately all too concerned about the fact that I was dreaming of an adolescent version of a boy I just met (I chalked coincidence up to the Day Residue theory) as I was too focused on the song that had appeared at the end. The dream-boy had said it was a special song his father wrote, but it was identical to the one that Roxas had played on his bass earlier during music class. He had called it "Simple and Clean", but I still had a gut feeling that I knew it as something else. "H" something... Himachi? Haruhi?

I eyed the blonde, who had recently started replying to a text message after I nodded in response to his question, and contemplated asking him about it. But something told me that questioning someone I'd known less than 48 hours about a song they possibly could have sung in a strange dream I may have had about them as an elementary student would raise some vibrant red flags. However, my curiosity was a ferocious beast and Roxas' song in particular was tickling my brain. There was something about it that was startlingly familiar. I had to know more about it; try and figure out where I had heard it before.

I cast another look at Roxas, trying to figure out how to get information from him without letting the whole dream thing slip. I finally decided subtly wasn't an option. "Hey, Roxas..."

He looked up from his phone. "Hm?"

"I have that song you played before stuck in my head," I began, slyly. "What was it called again?"

He quirked an eyebrow, but answered me nonetheless. "'Simple and Clean'."

"Oh, right," I said, feigning revelation. "It was so lovely, I haven't been able to forget it since music class. You said you and the guys wrote it?"

"Yeah," Roxas said, frowning slightly. "Sora and Vanitas wrote the lyrics." I didn't know if it was my imagination, but he seemed miffed. "Even though Dad-"

"Kairi!"

I turned to the voice by the door only to have my vision blocked by a wave of black hair that hit me in the face as I was glomped. "Hi, Tifa," I wheezed, recognizing her signature, crushing hugs.

"Tifa, get off of her!" I heard Cloud scold. "She's probably still weak."

"Oh goodness," Tifa exclaimed, flinging herself off me. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked apologetic. "Sorry, honey! I was just so glad to see you were okay."

"That's alright, Tifa," I said, giving her a reassuring smile that was admittedly feeble. "I appreciate your concern."

She took my hand, her face still etched with worry. "They boys told us everything on the car ride over. To think this kind of thing would happen on your first day back to school. You've only been staying with us for two days and you're in the hospital..."

"Sorry to cause you trouble," I said remorsefully.

"You're not causing any trouble, sweetie," Tifa said adamantly, giving my fingers a squeeze. "We just don't want to see you hurt."

"We've already phoned Aerith," Cloud said, coming to stand beside his wife. He looked down at me with gentle eyes that reminded me of his sons' (aside from Vanitas). "She wants you to call her as soon as we get back to the house."

"Oh man," I lamented. "She's probably freaking out."

"Knock, knock."

Axel and Vanitas appeared in the doorway. Tifa went to join Cloud to give them space beside my bed. Axel moved to ruffle my hair, but thought better of it. Instead, he moved a few messy strands back into place. "How is our concussed little princess?"

"She's fine," I smiled. "A lot better than before, anyway."

"That's not saying much," Vanitas commented. His arms were folded to keep his arrogant air, but his eyes were locked on mine and full of concern. "You were pretty out of it back at the lake. We thought you were down and out."

"We did not," Roxas said from his chair.

"No, we didn't," Axel agreed. He gave me a grin. "We knew you were tough."

I smiled. "Takes more than a few bumps to the head to put me out of commission."

Axel glanced at Van and a look passed between them. It only lasted a second or two before emerald and gold eyes were back on me. Axel smiled as if the exchange never happened. "We know."

"Whoa," Ventus said, walking into the room with Xion in tow. "Talk about a full house."

"A little too full, if you ask me," Xion said, sending a pointed glare at Vanitas and Axel. The tall redhead, though not entirely pleased, moved to give her some space. Vanitas on the other hand, held his ground. Xion narrowed her eyes at him and sauntered to my bedside, giving the raven boy a shove with her hip. "Excuse me, best friend coming through. How're you feeling, Kai?"

"I'm alright," I said, sounding like a broken record. "Sorry I scared you."

"You better be!" Xion huffed dramatically. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"I think she has a pretty good idea," Roxas chimed.

"Kairi shouldn't be apologizing," Vanitas said, crossing his arms and frowning at Xion, obviously not too impressed that he had been pushed. "Didn't she hit her head because you bumped into her canoe?"

"Hey, that's not fair," Ventus protested. "Don't blame Xion. That was my fault too."

I frowned. The air in the room was getting rife with guilt and pity. "Stop it," I scolded, fed up with the self-loathing. "It's no one's fault that I hit my head. Accidents happen."

Ventus sulked. "But if I had been steering better, we would never have hit your canoe."

"You couldn't have known we were under the willow. It's alright. I'm fine. I don't blame you or Xion for bumping into me and Sora." The youngest Strife didn't look completely convinced, but both he and Xion seemed a little relieved from my words. I grinned, deciding that changing topics would help lighten the mood. "Speaking of Sora, where is he?"

"Still talking with the doctor," Xion said. "He had a few more questions he wanted to ask."

I wasn't sure if she was talking about the doctor, or Sora. "Oh."

From the corner of my eye, I saw the silver hair of Riku round the corner and enter the room. A bag hung at his side that undoubtedly held my school uniform. "What the heck?" he exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Is this is a hospital room or a mosh pit?"

Everyone looked around and noticed that there were a few too many bodies in the cramped space. Tifa gave me a smile after sharing a look with her husband. "We'll go to the waiting room and give you some time to talk."

"We _all_ will," Xion said, nudging the guys out.

"Hey!" Axel whined, resisting her pushes. "I hardly got to talk to her!"

"Suck it up, Flames! You can see her tomorrow. Now move it! You too shorty!" Xion pulled Roxas from his chair and started bustling him out of the room as well.

"Hey!" he cried, indignantly. "Who are you calling short?"

"Oh, just shut up and _walk_!"

I snickered as their bickering continued down the hall. "Lively bunch, aren't they?"

"Maybe a little too lively," Riku said, setting down the bag with my uniform down on the floor as he pulled a chair beside my bed and sat down. "They didn't bother you too much did they?"

"Of course not. They may be a little rowdy, but they're just anxious about my concussion."

"How _is_ your head?" he asked, brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

I smiled at the brotherly gesture. "Like I've been saying all day, I'm fine. Once I get my hands on some Advil, I'll be a hundred percent."

Riku let out a sigh and rested his head on my blankets. "This is the second time you made me worry in one day. You're going to be the death of me one day."

I stared at my best friend. His hair was a mess and his eyes were closed from fatigue. His breathing was deep, like he was asleep or about to any second. He must've been like this this morning, waiting for me to wake up, worrying about if I was okay. He looked so tired. He must have been frantic when he heard I had passed out. I wondered how he reacted when Sora took over. Would he have been relieved that there was help or would he have panicked even more that my health was in someone else's hands?

I combed his hair with my fingers, trying to gently detangle the silvery strands. Riku's head snapped up when he felt my ministrations. Our eyes locked and I gave him a little smile. I tried to convey my emotions through the gaze, to share with Riku all my appreciation, affection, and apology. I really did put him through a lot. "I'm sorry," I said.

My fingers were still caught in Riku's hair as he sat up and leaned closer toward me. Our eyes remained connected and I was lost in his aquamarine irises. There was so much emotion flooding them, it was hard to determine what was what. It was like one big pool of emotions that was so mixed up, everything was blended together. Even his voice was muddled with something I couldn't place as he said my name. Nothing else, he just stared at me and said, "Kairi."

"Kairi!"

It was like a scene from a romantic comedy where the girl is caught by Boy A in a compromising situation with Boy B and conclusions are drawn. There I was, with my fingers stuck in Riku's hair, his face a mere foot away from mine as Sora walked in. My stomach twisted in knots as the brunette's happy smile faded as he saw us apparently cuddling on my hospital bed. I didn't remember how these kinds of scenes went, but I had a feeling they never ended well.

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	17. Memories or Visions?

**I apologize for the near ****_month_**** absence. Work was absolutely insane since our manager simply up and left us. Needless to say things were more than chaotic and there was little time to write. **

**The next chapter is here, however (though not as long as I'm sure you'd all like) and I also bring news!**

**First of all, I've created a twitter account under PennanInque (as always). It's meant to be a sort of "fanfiction fix" where I post small character or plot snippets. It's a good place to go if you want some KH or other fandom feels.**

**Also, I recently completed an AU oneshot for the KH series. It's called Pardon Me and can be found right on my profile. It's rather dark however, and contains adult themes and language, so read it at your own discretion. I'm incredibly proud of it though, and it would mean a lot to me if you read it and gave me your feedback. **

**That's it for now. Enjoy the chapter.**

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Sora's eyes owled as he watched us with stunned surprise. It was like he was a wild animal that heard a twig snap in the peaceful calm of night and turned to see a poacher training a shotgun between his eyebrows. His right hand rested on the doorframe and his left was clenched around a small, wrapped bouquet of daisies from the hospital gift shop that was moments away from slipping through his fingers. Finally he forced his gaze away from our lovely tableau, his face growing increasingly red with awkward embarrassment. "Sorry," he said, his voice cracking ever so slightly in the tension, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

Suddenly flustered, I ripped my fingers out of Riku's hair. He yowled and grabbed his scalp, whimpering and cursing to himself as I tried to look as nonchalant as I could. "You didn't interrupt anything. What's going on?"

"Oh… Uh, not much," Sora said, sending an unsure and somewhat apologetic glance to Riku who was still moaning at he rubbed his head. "I ran into Ventus in the hall. He said you were finally awake, so I thought I'd check on you."

"Thanks," I said, offering him the most grateful (albeit self-conscious) smile I could muster, hoping to dilute the tension. "I heard you and the guys took great care of me. I really appreciate it. Sorry I ruined the class."

"It's no problem!" Sora reassured quickly, grinning a little anxiously. "So long as you're okay, that's all that matters. Had we not been so worried about you, I would've said it was almost exciting. It got us out of having to listen to Mr. Phil yell at us through his megaphone some more in any case."

"I guess there's a bright side to everything," I laughed feebly. The air was so thick, I couldn't breathe. If someone didn't get rid of this elephant soon, I would suffocate.

"That's a great philosophy and all," Riku piped, his voice wary, "but can I just point out that the bad outweighed the good in this instance? I mean seriously, Kairi, you had everyone worried sick. And quite frankly, I'd rather be in Mr. Phil's class than waiting in a hospital for my friend to wake up."

"Whoa," Sora breathed, sensing it was as good a time as any to send me a bemused smirk to lighten the mood. "I didn't realize you brought your jail warden. Does he always lecture you like this?"

"Constantly," I replied, grinning lightly.

Riku frowned. "I'm not her jail warden. Kairi just gets into so much trouble and she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions. Someone has to keep her in line before something like today happens. I'm just trying to keep her safe."

"I guess that's understandable," Sora said. His eyes drifted to make contact with mine and shared a soft glance. He smiled a little and passed it off as a polite gesture when he caught Riku's pointed stare, but there was that same emotion I couldn't place. Like he was trying to talk with me through a gaze; like he had something important to tell me. But when I couldn't pick up on it, he gave up and looked back at Riku, grinning like nothing had happened. "Well if you need another guardian, sign me up! It never hurts to have two wardens, especially when the suspect is so high-strung."

Riku considered Sora, scanning him up and down like a manager inspecting a new employee. Finally his eyes landed on the flowers still in the brunette's grasp. "I don't know, Sora. Most guards don't bring their inmates daisies."

Sora brought his spare hand to his chest and sarcastically feigned heartbreak. "Now that hurts, Riku. I'll have you know I bought these for you."

Riku shook his head, a betraying smile compromising any countenance of irritation. "You're ridiculous."

"Since you're so ungrateful, I'll just give them to this pretty lady right here." He handed me the bouquet, adding a charming smirk and a debonair flourish for good measure.

Riku rolled his eyes in either contrast or relation to my amused giggle as I took the bouquet. "You're so full of it, dude."

"Of charisma? Why yes, yes I am."

I couldn't help but laugh. Finally the anxiety and awkwardness was totally gone, evaporated into thin air by Riku and Sora's antics. I no longer felt the panging in my skull and it was as if I had never even hit my head. The air lightened and my mirth continued, eventually infecting the two boys until their chuckles mingled with mine. We interacted so naturally, like we had been together since the diaper days. Maybe we had been the three musketeers in a previous life.

"My, what a lively bunch!" A man in a white lab-coat appeared in the doorway. He was tall and broad, his frame impressive for someone who looked around fifty or sixty in the face. He smiled kindly at us with old, amber eyes. His blonde hair was combed neatly and his mustache and goatee were trimmed properly. A stethoscope hung around his neck and he held a clipboard in his hand. He walked toward me, Riku moving out of his way as he did so. The man glanced at the monitor I was hooked to before turning his gaze to me. "You seem like you're feeling better. How's your head, my dear? Still sore?"

"A little," I admitted, the aching returning with the absence of distractions.

"I'm not surprised," the man said genteelly. "From what I hear, you had a nasty spill. But the damage to your skull was almost nonexistent and your brain is just slightly bruised so you'll recover quickly. You're rather lucky."

I didn't know how to respond, so I offered a stiff nod. I had never been good with doctors, even when I was little. I never knew how to interact with them. They weren't really human to me… more like supernatural beings that understood everything about someone with just one look. It didn't help that I had never seen this man before in my life.

Sora seemed to recognize the unfamiliarity on my face. "This is Doctor Ansem, Kairi. He's the one that's been looking after you."

"Oh," I said laboriously. At least I had a name. That was somewhat human. "Thank you."

"It's no trouble, my dear. It's my job to look after those that have been injured. You were a very complacent patient too; you gave us no problems. Your entourage on the other hand…" he slipped Sora and Riku a look to which they avoided sheepily.

"Sorry," I said, sending them a look of my own. "They can be a hassle."

"They weren't a _hassle_ per se," Doctor Ansem clarified. "The nurses just didn't know what to do with so many people flittering around the hospital. You're well looked after, Miss Gainsborough."

A smile graced my lips as I peered at Riku and Sora. They were here with me and the others were still undoubtedly in the waiting room, patiently anticipating my release. It wasn't just Riku, Xion, and Mom that had my best interests at heart anymore. In the span of two days, my family had grown bigger. I was genuinely cared for. My mother may have been away, and I would miss her terribly, but _maybe_ this next year wasn't going to be as lonely and harrowing as I had thought. "I know."

* * *

"I'll prescribe you some Tylenol Two to deal with any discomfort your headaches may bring. You should also stay away from hard, physical labor; lifting or pushing anything more than forty pounds should be avoided. You should be able to participate in your courses so long as you pace yourself and wear a helmet when in your outdoor class. We don't want you smacking your head again, now do we? Do you have any questions for me before we discharge you?"

Doctor Ansem sat in a stool by my bedside. I had gotten more used to his presence and viewed him more as a person than the alien I thought all lab-coat-wearers were. He was a kind man that reminded me of my late grandfather. They were both gentle souls with soft eyes and deep eyes. He was easy going and had a calming existence.

Sora and Riku sat in a corner, listening quietly. They would share a glance on occasion and whisper every now and then. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I figured it had something to do about my condition and how they were going to bubblewrap me for the next few weeks.

I wracked my brain, thinking back to the time of the accident itself for anything Doctor Ansem could answer. There wasn't much physical damage that I had questions about; my head hurt, I knew it hurt and I knew it would continue to hurt. I'd take medication for that. But there was one thing that had been niggling in the back of my mind, taunting me with its mysteries. It was a long shot, but I decided to ask, just in case. What other option was there? "I was actually wondering if there were any side affects to a concussion," I said. The words sounded stupid coming from my mouth, but I had to try. "Like, can memories be dug up?"

Doctor Ansem looked confused. "Dug up?"

"Yeah," I shifted, "Like retrieved or something."

"Did you think you saw a memory, child?"

"I don't know," I mumbled, "maybe. I thought I saw myself swimming in the water after I fell in the canoe. It was like I could feel the water around me, like I was recalling the moment. But I don't remember the actually moment itself…"

Riku whispered something hushed to Sora to which the brunette brusquely swatted him away, hissing something back. Doctor Ansem sent them a glare before calmly turning back to me. "I've never heard of memories surfacing, my dear. It's quite normal for vomiting to occur, and there are occasional patients who experience hallucinations, but the limbic lobe is rarely accessible to surgeons, let alone a bump on the head. You hit your occipital lobe. This is the part of your brain that controls sight, so perhaps you simply imagined it."

I frowned. It sort of made sense, but it sort of didn't. "Maybe…"

"Anything else, my dear?" The doctor asked. I shook my head and he stood, clapping his hands together as a note of finality. "Alright then. We'll et you change. I'll give you the Tylenol prescription as you leave. If you have any other questions, feel free to stop by or give me a call. Now come on, gentlemen. Let's give the lady some privacy."

"Right." The boys got to their feet and followed Doctor Ansem out the door. Sora turned over his shoulder to give me a smile. "Take your time, Kairi. We'll be just outside the door."

Riku grimaced. "Can you not phrase it like we're perverts?"

"Oops," Sora blushed. "Well, you know what I mean. See you soon."

The door closed behind them and I was left in the hospital room alone. I sat in my cot for a while longer, mulling over the possibility that what I had seen were hallucinations. It made sense except for the fact that I could remember the feel of the water and the wind in my face as I ran on the bank. It didn't quite sit with me, but it was the best explanation so far.

Shoving it to the back of my mind for later contemplation, I removed my covers and slipped off the bed. The floor was frigid on my bare feet, providing an extra motive to get dressed. I struggled out of the hospital gown and into my school uniform that Riku had retrieved. Catching a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror above the sink, I grimaced. My hair was more or less a nest of tangles and my mascara had left occasional smudges around my eyes. I turned the faucet on and splashed some water in my face, hoping it would wake me up before scrubbing at the makeup and running my fingers through my hair.

I wandered aimlessly around the room as I combed the tangles out, meandering absentmindedly as I typically did when preoccupied with other matters. As I passed the door, I could hear voices from the other side. Riku and Sora, waiting just outside the room as promised. They were trying to keep their voices down and failing, their whispers turning to near snarls as their discussion became more heated.

"You're on dangerously thin ice, Sora."

"Hey, I'm just as concerned as you are."

"If you're so concerned, then stop trying."

"I'm not _trying_! Things just happened."

"Well you better make sure they don't from now on. You know what'll happen if they continue."

Sora didn't respond.

* * *

The world was dead-silent. A pin could have dropped in China, and I probably would have heard it.

What the hell was that?


End file.
